Silvertree's Talon
by SignaTalon
Summary: Signa, a young woman different from all those around her, finds her home destroyed; her loved ones murdered; and what little allies she has left endangered. Now it is up to her bravery and prowess to save those who stand by her. {Guild wars storyline characters and places do not belong to me. They belong to the Guild Wars franchise, Arena Net, and NC Soft. Thank you.}
1. Chapter 1

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am just representing my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 1: Silver Tree

"Just how I left you" Signa said, gazing upon her home village fondly as she stood upon a large, over-looking hill. Two years had passed since her adoptive father had agreed to allow her to enter an apprenticeship with famed elementalist, Ariana Stormbringer. She had promised him she would return stronger than ever and now she could almost taste the sun-sweet berries growing in the fertile land of the village. Slowly she drew a deep breath before stepping forward towards home.

"Kenneth, go be a dear and fetch some water," Madame Alice said gently to the young teenager just behind her.

Kenneth looked up from the pants he was sowing back together, "Yes Miss Alice" he drawled as he got up quite lethargically. Soon he was out of the orphanage with a mighty yawn and walking towards the old well. He grabbed a large bucket and tossed it into the well nodding at the resulting splash with satisfaction. Just as he reached for the rope to pull the bucket back up, something flashed at the corner of his eye. Quickly and warily he looked in that direction to see a tall figure in the distance heading in his direction. Kenneth squinted his eyes and could see the figure had long, silver hair, heavily padded armor, a tall, glowing staff, but most importantly, this person was abnormally tall. Kenneth's eyes flew wide open, "SIGNA!" he shouted.

Immediately the figure looked in his direction and waved before moving towards him at a faster pace. Kenneth laughed with joy and ran towards his old friend energetically. The two finally met and clasped together in a tight hug, "Signa you're home!" he laughed.

"Oh it's so good to see you my friend!" Signa exclaimed lifting the smaller boy up and then letting him go, "How I've missed you all."

"I can't believe your back! It's been so long! Come on all the kids have really missed ya!" Kenneth bounced up and down and snatched her hand running her to the orphanage at a break neck pace. As they got closer he yelled gleefully, "Signa is home! Signa is home! Everyone come out Signa is home!"

No sooner did he crow his welcoming call, dozens of joyful faces erupted from the small, ragged orphanage building backed by an equally joyous Ms. Alice. The children surrounded her and pounced on her like a thousand happy puppies greeting their mother. Finally after she had escaped from their suffocating grasp, Ms. Alice embraced her tears coming from her eyes.

"Oh you have grown so much my dear," she stated, "how the children and I have missed you."

Signa hugged the old woman back with equal endearment, "And I have missed you all as well, but now I have returned and with the knowledge I have gained I can protect you all now. But first, I must go to the chief."

"Oh of course darling," Alice said with a smile, "Why he must miss you the most of all. Go on, you have made us so proud." Signa nodded with a smile kneeling respectfully to the elder.

She proceeded onward through the town followed by a procession of excited little kids. As she passed the merchant's row, she was greeted by all the familiar smells and people of the past. There was Mr. Ark with his delicious tray of bread beside him, both smelling like fresh baked heaven in a pan. There was the Duchess Minora stooping over the sweet aroma of Mrs. Koran's lilies. There was even young priest Mehnlo, kneeling by the shrine of Dwayna praying for the soldiers out in the war.

All waved to her with joyous expression as she passed. Finally she arrived at the dwelling of the clan leader, Ventour Silvertree himself and her adoptive father. The kids respectfully dispersed with cheerful grins on their faces and left her to nervously stare at the door. After taking a deep breath, Signa bent down and knocked. She heard a shuffling of footsteps and a click. She gulped and took a step back.

The door opened inward with a familiar creak and an old man peered from inside. Eyes as blue as clear spring water, but as intense as the hottest fire glanced at her and instantly widened with recognition. The door swung open revealing the man behind it and immediately Signa was hugged.

"My dearest daughter," Ventour started his voice cracked with emotion, "Welcome home."

Tears slowly fell from Signa's own ice blue eyes, "Thank you father."

"Come in, come in!" he finally said after a long embrace. He ushered her inside. Signa was careful to bend her head as she was taller than the door. Her father had not changed the thing. Everything was as she remembered it from two years ago. The scent of incense wafted in the air, purple curtains with the Silvertree insignia hung about everywhere, and she could hear a gentle trickle of water from a fountain close by. "I trust your training went well?" he inquired.

Signa aroused herself from her nostalgic day dreaming, "Oh yes," she replied, "Ariana is a wonderful mentor, just like you said. She taught me much, much more than I'd ever hoped for.

"Oh good!" exclaimed Ventour as he sat in his favorite chair motioning to her old chair beside him. Let's talk about it and catch up.

Signa nodded with a smile and was just about to take a seat when the door slammed open revealing one of the town guards. "Leader!" the young man shouted, "Charr! An entire army of them headed for our valley!"

Ventour immediately stood his face twisting into an expression of both fury and concern, "Charr? Here? Impossible," he muttered, "Send all but one legion of our soldiers! We have to protect the valley! We have to protect Ascalon! Also call out the horn! We must call on the alliance." The soldier nodded and with a salute was off. No sooner did he disappear from the doorway, the mighty horn of Silvertree went off alerting all the other guilds of the valley that an enemy was approaching.

"Father let me go!" Signa pleaded, standing up so fast she nearly hit her head on the ceiling.

"No, it's too dangerous for you" he replied immediately.

"I'm stronger now! What did I train for two years for if not to fight?!"

Ventour gritted his teeth, "Very well… but come back safe."

Signa nodded embracing her father one more time before grabbing her staff and rushing out the door. Soon she was mingled with all the other soldiers of Silvertree, charging towards the border between Charr lands and their peaceful valley.

When they arrived the fighting had already begun. The Rising Moon Guild, being the closest guild to the border, was already deep into battle with many wounded. This was no mere battle, this was an invasion. There were thousands of them. Each standing almost seven feet tall, covered in dark matted fur, horns sharpened to a point, and teeth bared and yellowed. Every charr was armed to the teeth and protected by steel. It almost seemed hopeless, yet no soldier faltered. With a mighty roar, the Silvertree clan warriors rushed into battle, swords and shields held high. At the same time the charr forces charged, their inhuman shrieks piercing through Signa's ears.

Now Signa roared, "FOR SILVERTREE, AND FOR ASCALON!" Signa held her staff to the sky and it flashed red. Above the main force of the charr cloud after cloud appeared and it began to rain small meteors. Signa almost laughed as she heard the charr's shrieks of pain. She could feel her blood racing with adrenaline. It was euphoria. Spell after spell flew from her fingertips, ceaselessly, tirelessly. Meteor Shower, Chain Lightning, Earthquake, and countless others wrought death upon the charr's legions. Soon 20 were dead, 50, 100, and still they kept coming.

Despite her relentless effort as time went on she was being pushed farther and farther back into a close by cliff face. Very few soldiers were beside her, the rest being dead or injured and taken to infirmaries. A particularly large charr leaped over his comrades snapping at Signa's face. Signa whacked him with her staff knocking him towards a waiting soldier where he was skewered. As soon as Signa looked forward she saw a strangely dressed charr wielding a scepter and could only curse before the charr cast a spell, launching her into a nearby cave and trapping her inside.

Signa groaned and held her head; she was bleeding profusely from the back of her skull. Quickly, she used one of her water spells to heal the wound just a little. As she started towards the caved in entrance, the earth rumbled knocking her down again. "What the-"she began before she was interrupted by an inhuman wail, as if the Earth, as if even the Gods themselves shrieked bloody murder. Signa screamed as well, holding her hands over her ears and bending over. She sat the curled in a ball for nearly an hour before it was all over. Very slowly, she stood. Her legs shook as if made of jelly. She pointed her staff at the entrance and blasted it open. She took one look outside, and fell to her knees.

{Thanks for reading! Please review and criticize because I want to get better! Also tell me how you like it! This is just chapter 1 of what will be a full length story so stay tuned!}


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Smoke wafted into the small cavern and encompassed Signa. All she could smell was smoke and sulfur. Slowly she walked out, silent, as if in a trance. The whole landscape had changed. What was once soft, green grass was now hard, unforgiving, gray, cracked earth. The sky, so brilliantly blue just a few hours before, was now a broiling cauldron of darkness. Tossed up and burnt trees lay scattered everywhere, massive crystal structures rose maliciously to the sky, shining in sickly purples and greens. The crystal clear brooks that once ran through the valley were now empty, or filled with a repulsive black tar. The land had been seared.

Quickly Signa broke out into a run. As fast as she could she ran towards her home. Her heart hammered and as she approached her destination it sank. The walls were not there, great crystals pierced throughout the town, buildings lay in shatters, and no one was to be seen.

"Father!" she cried, "Kenneth! Lady Alice!" There was no response. Into town she burst and right up to the remains of her father's home. There lied nothing. Crying out she leapt out of his home and to the orphanage, but there to was only waste. Desperately Signa searched and searched for any sign of life. Despite her search there was no one. She was alone. Slowly she backed up, shaking from head to toe with despair. She hit something behind her and slowly turned around. There was the great, silver tree. There was the sacred gift that the Goddess Melandru had given the founder of the clan centuries ago. There it stood, its shining trunk tainted with soot and blackness; its thick branches splintered beyond repair; and all of its glowing leaves, all but one, stripped from it. Tears fell from Signa's eyes as she watched the very last leaf fall gently to the ground.

Slowly, carefully, Signa walked on. She leaned heavily on her staff with her cloak wrapped tightly around her. Wearily she lifted her head up to look at the horizon. Ascalon. She had only ever been to the pride of the land of Rin once. She had been a young girl tagging along with Ventour on one of his business travels. Each majestic tower and laughing jester was forever imprinted on her memory. She had even been able to meet the king and play with the prince as their father's conversed. Now it stood, in shatters before her. The great city had been reduced to nearly nothing. She walked on.

As she got closer she heard people shouting. Her heart rose quickly at that sound of humanity. Forgetting her injury and weariness she began to run to the city. As soon as she made it past the remains of the gates she could see soldiers, not many but enough, helping civilians to infirmaries. Healers were treating the horribly wounded, masons were building shelters, and scouts were looking for survivors. Relief washed over Signa at this sight. She rushed to assist people to the infirmaries and she did all she could until sundown. Exhausted and hungry she finally rested around one of the many bonfires that had been made.

"My fellow Ascalonians," said a man, his voice ringing through the night with a strong, but an overwhelmingly sorrowful tone, "We have been struck down. The charr… they have wrought their wrath on us, claimed the lives of our loved ones, and destroyed our proud city. We have been seared. We have been broken. We have been scattered. As your prince, my heart is filled with a despair I cannot describe, but I tell you now. We will not be eradicated like this! Not so easily! While a few of us still stand we will fight on! We will rebuild and defend so says the king! Ascalon shall never fall to charr hands!" At this many soldiers, men, women, and children raised their hands and roared their loyalty. Signa too, roared her loyalty.

"All hail King Jalis!" they cheered, "All hail Prince Rurik! All hail Ascalon!" Now a smaller man stood at the main fire his face covered in the scars of war.

"My name is Warmaster Tydus," he announced briskly, "If we are to defend ourselves and our homeland we need heroes. We need people who will fight, and even give their lives for this cause. Our numbers are few and we can no longer afford the great armies we had in comfort before. Our only hope will be in a precious few, trained to take on missions of epic proportion. Who will answer this call?"

Signa looked around quietly while chewing on her bread. The civilians and soldiers just whispered looking at each other expectantly. None were willing to take such risk. Signa gulped and closed her eyes seeing the gentle face of her father, purposefully she stood, "My name is Signa Talon and I will answer the call."

Almost immediately after she stood another man, large and covered in armor, stood a few feet away, "My name is Kalen Morthaur and I to, will answer the call." A couple more people stood, one a red haired, buff, woman and the other a long-haired, quiet looking man.

"My comrade and I will also answer this call," the woman added, "We are Zleeda Gak and Q Tan." No one else stood.

"Very well," Tydus replied with a sad but pleased grin, "You four shall be the first of our heroes. May Balthazar guide your weapons and Dwayna watch over your souls."

{**Content Break!** J So in this chapter you may hear names such as "Melandru," "Dwayna," and "Balthazar." These entities are only three of the five Gods that lord over the Tyrian universe. They are Balthazar, Melandru, Dwayna, Grenth, and Lyssa. Each God has power over a different aspect of life. Balthazar is the God of Fire and War and is often the object of many a warrior's chant. Melandru is the Goddess of Nature and the Earth. Dwayna is the Goddess of Life and Air, and she is the subject of worship from monks and healers. Grenth is the God of Death and Ice and the lord of the Mists ((equivalent of the Underworld)). Finally Lyssa is the Goddess of Beauty and Illusion. Thanks for reading my story and stay tuned for more on the adventures of Signa!}


	3. Chapter 3

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am just representing my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 3

Gradually the survivors of the tragedy began to clear away. They filed into their shelters and Signa could see in their slow, belabored steps the despair of losing one's home; yet, in their eyes, she could see a renewed fire. Yes, these people were strong. They would live on.

For a minute longer she lingered before turning her gaze away from the people and towards the man who had called for heroes, Tydus. He gestured to the four that had accepted the call and retreated into a tent not far away. With due haste, Signa followed the rest of the heroes in entering and entered the tent last.

The tent was crowded with soldiers, all surrounding Prince Rurik in the center, pouring over a map with nothing but a candle for light. Tydus kneeled by the prince and whispered something. Rurik nodded and waved away his officers who wordlessly left the tent to their own shelters. Signa gazed at the two men before her curiously. As a girl she had played with Rurik in his gardens but it had been many years since they had seen each other. He was a grown man now with a short, yet rugged, beard; heavy armor covering him head to toe; and the look in his bright blue eyes of a man inspired. Tydus to, carried this look. Signa was surprised, now that she saw him up close, to see that he was actually quite young. His bulky stature and heavy armor betrayed her for upon closer inspection he did not look a year older than 25. The only sign he carried of experience in battle was a scar, scrawled across his left cheek ending at his chin.

"I am indebted to you all for your great service to our country," Rurik began, interrupting Signa's observations, "It takes great heart to lay down one's life for the good of others." Rurik looked fondly upon them all, his eyes lingering on each and every person. Signa mused that he looked upon her longest of all and wondered if he did indeed recognize her from those long years past. "As our people rebuild it will be your duty to protect the citizens and to push back the charr forces. Tydus here shall be your commander. He will assign you your missions and pass on your reports to myself. As for me I shall travel to the capital of Rin and pray that my father has not been succumbed to the fate of so many here. If he is indeed alive then I will seek his council on what the people shall do. A tent has been set up a few yards out and to the right for all of you. Please go and get a good night's rest. Once again I thank you." Rurik bowed lowly and humbly.

The men and woman around her bowed back and Signa bowed as well. Soon they were all shuffling out of the tent. As she was about to leave a hand fell upon her shoulder. Quickly she turned to find that it was none other than Rurik. "Signa, my friend," he whispered gently, "Though I am beyond relieved and glad to see you after so many long years, I fear the reason why you come alone."

At his words Signa was reminded of the catastrophe that had befallen her only hours earlier. She pointed her gaze down as if seeking to find solace in the cold dirt. "All dead," she finally managed to choke out, "Every last person. They are all dead Rurik, even my father—"

"I understand," Rurik interjected, "I am glad then that at least you survived. Let us hope that one day your clan can be revived." Solemnly he let her go. Signa nodded to him, overwhelmed by his care and walked out into the chilled night.

Eventually she located the tent she was to share with her newfound companions. She felt shy suddenly, what if these weathered adventurers found her unworthy? What if she did not fit in? Quickly Signa chased away these thoughts. She had never truly fit in, her abnormal height and abilities had seen to that.

Without further thought she moved away the tent flap and entered. The tent was large and had four cots set up. The other three had been whispering quietly about their future. The woman, Signa remembered she had called herself Zleeda, smiled upon her entry and announced "Ah she's here! Come, come sit down. We were just waiting for you so we could get started."

"Started?" Signa asked.

"She wants us to have introductions," whispered the one whose name was Q.

"Of course we should have introductions!" Zleeda announced, "If we will be adventuring together for what may be the rest of our lives then we might as well get acquainted!"

"Sensible enough," muttered the other man, "I will start. As I said before my name is Kalen Mort-Arthur which in your land would be condensed into the name Morthaur. I myself hail from the land of Carpathia. It is a continent far across the seas from here. I am a traveler and was seeking adventure here when the searing occurred. All else that should matter to you is my skill with a sword." Curtly he nodded, finished with his story. Signa scratched her head still trying to put together her image of him. He was a very well-built man with bulky golden armor. He had short cropped white hair and his skin was tanned and covered in the scars of battle.

"I'm next!" shouted the woman. Signa smiled at her, she reminded her of a young child in her orphanage that was always bright and happy no matter what the circumstance. Zleeda had bright red hair drawn into two, whip-like pigtails and darker skin. "My name is Zleeda," she started, "I was born and raised here in Ascalon city and have been training as a warrior for FOREVER! My mother and father were both really great warriors! That is 'til…" Zleeda looked down for a moment her eyes glazed over and different from the jubilee that was just inherent in them; however, just as soon as the happiness had disappeared it reappeared and there was no sight of the sorrow that Signa had just seen, "Never mind that," she continued, "There really isn't much about me! I'm just an Ascalonian through and through."

"Right then I suppose that it's my turn," said the quiet man in the corner, "My name is Q Tan. It is of course not my real name, but it is the name that everyone calls me by. I'm a ranger of the west and was here on business with Zleeda when the catastrophe occurred. I know in my heart that my forest home is no more otherwise I would not be here. I only hope that my bow shall do these people well." Q looked to Signa. Signa observed that he had bright green eyes, light leaves shining on a summer day, and long brown hair tied in a pony-tail.

"Signa?" Zleeda asked expectantly.

"Hm? Oh!" Signa exclaimed, realizing that the three of them were looking at her expectantly for her story. "Well," Signa began. She felt nervous; the events of the day were still so vivid in her mind wracking her body in sorrow. She forced herself to take a long, shaky breath before starting, "My name is Signa Talon, and my last name was given to me by the leader of the Silvertree clan when he found me as an infant in the woods with nothing but this talon pendant for a clue as to who put me there." At this Signa pulled out her treasured pendant from her bosom. This trinket was all she credited her identity to. "He took me in to the village orphanage where I was raised with all the other children. I went and trained in the magic of the elements with Ariana Stormbringer in the mountains to the west of my forest home for two years. I had only just got back when the valley that my village resided in was being attacked. Foolishly, I pleaded my leader whom I considered to be my father to let me go with the other warriors and confront this menace. He finally let me go and in the heat of battle I found myself trapped in a cave when the catastrophe happened. When I finally came to my senses and escaped the cave, all was gone. My village had been reduced to ruin and my dear father, brothers, sisters, and clan members were all dead. I, I want to show the charr all this suffering that they wrought upon me and bring it upon them a hundred times over." Signa clenched her hand into a fist.

The tent was silent for a while. Signa hardly noticed the sympathetic stares coming from her new companions. Her mind's eye was filled with blood, gore, and fire.

"Well," Zleeda finally said, "It is late. We should all be getting to bed. I hope that we shall all become good friends in the future. May Lyssa keep your dreams free of darkness." The two men nodded at this and shuffled into their own cots. Signa followed after and lay down in her cot. Once she lay down she realized just how exhausted she was. Her body ached and she felt that her limbs had been tied down with lead weights. She was asleep almost before her head hit her pillow.


	4. Chapter 4

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am just representing my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 4

"Prohibited? What in the world do you mean prohibited?!" exclaimed a tall man in pompous white robes.

Signa tried very hard not to laugh at the man. Even at this man's height she still had to bend her head down to gain eye contact. Sorely she wished that he would take off his ridiculous white, pointy hat. "You see sir…" she started slowly, "The king wishes that no outsiders be allowed within the city" Signa winced at the look of the man's face. His big mouth turned down in an indescribably comical scowl. "Now, now no need to be upset sir," Signa said quickly, "The prince himself is thoroughly sorry for this harsh ruling and has made that the most comfortable of camps should be set up for you outside of the city. You will be safe from all harm believe me."

"I should certainly hope so! Kryta does not take so kindly to proud fools!" the ambassador shouted, "You'd better tell your superior that it is only out of my insurmountable generosity that I do not leave this instant. I'd also better have the best private guard at his disposal!"

"And you have her," responded a voice coming from behind a tent, "Ariana Stormbringer at your service. I am the Head elementalist of the king's army."

Signa looked up quickly, "Ariana…" Signa could hardly believe her eyes. It had been nearly two years since she had joined Rurik and the people of Ascalon and not once had she ever seen her old mentor. Signa had long thought her dead like all the loved ones of her past.

Ariana smiled at her old student and patted her on the shoulder, "It's a pleasure to see you my dear, Tydus sent me here to guard his annoyingness. You're dismissed back to the city to await further orders. The others are also being called back to the city; I sense a great mission is being assigned to you all. Good luck."

Signa nodded at a loss for words. Quickly she gave her mentor a hug and then ran off towards the city. Once she entered the city she relaxed and headed for her tent. If the others were indeed being called here before this "great mission" was being assigned then she had some time to repair armor and get rest.

Kalen slowly peered from behind his cover. After having spent three days in the Diessa Lowlands he had finally made it to the flame temple. The soldiers at the Grendich Courthouse had been right to warn him away from this place. As he looked from his hiding place Kalen could see that the whole temple grounds were just crawling with Charr. There had to be at least five dozen of the beasts marching through the ruins.

When the prince himself had approached Kalen with this mission Kalen had been doubtful. Now Kalen knew there was no hope for the individual he was seeking. Still he owed it to the prince to bring back something.

Kalen sat for a moment to ponder how he would continue. From what he had seen the grounds had been turned into a Charr fortress of sorts. There had to be some executive calling the shots in the place. Kalen looked again and saw that, as he suspected, on the center platform there was a large gray charr carrying a staff and headdress. He would be Kalen's target. Kalen could at least bring back the headdress to the prince as a token of a mission followed through.

To Kalen's right a path forked down towards the temple. A few yards ahead he could see it split to either side of the grounds. He saw that the left path fell under the shadows of an overhanging cliff. Perhaps he could take that path and hide under the cover of the overhang. Satisfied with this plan he slowly creeped from behind his hiding spot and hugged the wall of the overhang.

Hidden in the shadows, he could now see that guarding one vantage point of the grounds stood a couple of younger charr. They did not look as alert as some of the older Charr and Kalen fancied they were almost just cubs. Stopping in the shadows for a moment to think, Kalen pitied these two cubs, thrust into a war they did not understand; yet, as he thought this, Kalen wondered if the Charr were not like the hatching devourer who erupted from their eggs and attacked with as much ferocity as their parents. Perhaps they were more like humans then humans thought.

Quickly Kalen shook such thoughts from his head. He had a job to do; his brooding would have to wait. Kalen picked up a good sized rock. He would draw the cubs to him and kill them in the dark noiselessly. The rock was tossed, Kalen's aim was true. It landed just between the confused charr. Just as planned they began to approach the cliff face, axes held before them. As soon as they got close enough Kalen was upon them. Kalen cut them down with his broadsword before they could utter even the faintest growl. Quickly Kalen donned one of their helmets and dragged one of the bodies just out of the shadows to be spotted. Knowing he had little time he sprinted from the shadows and into the grounds. He used broken pillars as cover and stuck to the shadows.

It was not long before Kalen was climbing up the back side of the central platform. Very, very quietly he looked over the edge. In front of him, the Charr executive stood looking out on the grounds. Right on time a charr warrior approached the executive and quickly reported the sighting of a dead body bordering on the grounds. The warriors about him growled and shuffled about nervously. The executive merely rolled his eyes and shouted a couple orders. Soon the guards were off towards the cliff. Now was Kalen's chance. Swiftly, Kalen pulled himself up onto the platform drawing his sword. The charr turned around far too late and found the blade's keen point stabbed through his chest. Kalen grinned, success. Nonchalantly he let the charr fall from his blade and bent to pick up his headdress. As he bent something flashed in the corner of his eye. Quietly, Kalen kneeled to investigate. A few feet away lay a few old bones and among them a necklace. It was a feather necklace. Placed in the center of several gorgeous beads hung a single, white moa feather. Keeping the feather in place was a medallion carrying the seal of the prince. This was no mere trinket; this was the Lady Alesia's necklace. Kalen reached out to touch it, but no sooner had his finger brushed against the soft feather a powerful wind blew him back. The Carpathian warrior looked up in awe as the spirit of a beautiful noblewoman rose up before him.

"Who would dare encroach upon my misery? Is that you my beloved?" spoke the woman. Her voice was beyond beautiful, but it was also tainted and Kalen shuddered upon hearing the screams of the dead behind her words.

"I am not your beloved," Kalen answered hurriedly, "Nor am I your enemy. I was sent here by Prince Rurik in search of the Lady Alesia."

"Rurik, then you are one of his soldiers," whispered the woman. A profound grief could be felt behind the woman's gaze as she continued, "I am the Lady Alesia. This holy place was attacked by an army of beasts and has fallen to dark taking me with it. In life I was Rurik's lover and I'm afraid I have now left him behind in death. Please if there is indeed good in your heart tell him of my plight and that I love him. Also take this necklace of mine, a pendant that he gifted to me years ago, and give it to him so that he might remember me by it."

"I will do as you ask my lady," Kalen responded gravely, "Your fate shall be heard." Solemnly the ghost nodded in satisfaction and with the sound of a thousand pained sighs, disappeared. Kalen grabbed the pendant and gently put it in his pocket. He did not know how many minutes had passed on that encounter but he did not have much time to make his escape. He climbed down the side of the platform and sprinted out of the grounds and was gone.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Look at 'em all Q! There must be 20 or 30 of 'em!" Zelda whispered, hardly able to contain her excitement.

"Indeed," Q replied more calmly, "Grawl never travel alone. They're too dumb and weak to function; their fur is not nearly as thick as their charr cousins'; and their most powerful ritual is but a child's cantrip to us. Still we should approach with caution. I suggest you stay behind the cover of those rocks and let me draw them to—" Q looked to his left to find his comrade missing, "Or not."

"BANZAI!" roared Zleeda as she charged into the camp sword held high. She flew into the center of the camp and engaged in combat with a spear wielder. In a few strokes the grawl lay dead and Zleeda pounced upon her next victim. He too, soon died. "TWO!" Zleeda shouted, gleefully counting the bodies she laid on the ground, "FIVE! WHO'S NEXT!" she soon screamed and turned to find nobody. The camp was dead silent. Zleeda frowned in disappointment. "Did they run?" she asked herself squinting in the dark. She made out the shapes the remainder of the camp lying dead not too far away.

Q appeared out of the dark carrying dozens of bloodied arrows. "That's the last of them" he announced slyly.

"YOU—YOU!" Zelda yelled exasperatedly.

Q just shrugged with a smile and looked up. The smile fell from his face as he spotted an eagle approaching them rapidly. Q held out his arm and the eagle was soon perched upon it. "A message from Tydus," Q stated, "We are to return immediately. We have a mission to complete."

"Oh brilliant! Maybe I'll actually get a kill in! You spoil all the fun." Zleeda complained.

"Right, right let's just get moving. We don't want to be late" Q chided.

"Whatever…" Zleeda muttered.

Signa looked out from the tent and saw her friend approach. Kalen was walking away from Prince Rurik. He carried a stony façade on his face and behind him Signa could see a look of absolute despair in the prince's eyes. "What's going on…" she started to ask.

"It is not my business to say" was Kalen's only reply. Only hours after Kalen's arrival came Zleeda and Q, both looking quite serious. They entered the tent and Signa absent-mindedly chatted with Zleeda over matters such as how to attack a camp of grawl and whatnot. Their conversation was interrupted as Warmaster Tydus lifted the tent flap open and entered.

"My friends," he started, "I'm glad you all could make it. I have a very important mission for you. Captain Calhaam sent word of trouble brewing beyond the borders of the north. He suspects something grave is about to happen. He needs you four to head for the Great Northern Wall and beyond to see what's up. You leave tomorrow at dawn. Get your rest, you'll need it." With a curt nod Tydus left them to themselves.

"The Great Northern Wall?" Signa wondered aloud.

"It's a wondrous structure," Zleeda stated with a smile, "Never been breached in all the years it has stood. Not once."

"This draws attention to the fact that whatever Calhaam is suspecting must be big. We will have to be careful" Q glared at Zleeda as he said this.

"Right, speculating now, however, is a waste of time," Kalen yawned, "Come let us get our rest. I'm sure we're all weary. Come tomorrow we make for the Great Northern Wall."

{Thanks for reading my story and stay tuned for more on the adventures of Signa!}


	5. Chapter 5

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am just representing my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 5

Signa stepped out of their little tent and into the morning. The camp was silent for it was still quite early. Slowly Signa found a seat near the camp and sighed looking at her feet. Dust rolled about her ankles; it crawled its way into every orifice of her clothing. She could hardly stretch out her toes in her boots without feeling the dust, sand, and rock interlope between her toe nails. The whole land had this feeling of compression. Signa felt there was no longer any space to breathe. The air was always hot, thick, and heavy. It smelled foul no matter where you went and it compelled the body to lie down and never get up. Not only was the air at fault the sky to made Signa feel caged. For two long years not once had Signa ever seen sky or sunlight. The sky was an eternal cauldron. Black smoke and clouds forever roiled about above her but would not go anywhere; the clouds just stayed there and writhed. When the clouds did disperse on rare occasion all Signa could see of the sky was blood red from some strange remains of the searing. Even though the landscape stretched to both sides so far Signa thought this wasteland might never end still it suffocated her. On and on there was only dust, and tar, and ruin. It was a hopelessly scarred land with no variety and no life about it.

Yes, this land suffocated her in every way, shape, or form.

"It is time to go Signa," Q said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "When you are done reminiscing I suggest you gather your equipment and meet us at the northern wall. Zleeda will be leading the expedition since she knows the land the best.

Signa nodded quickly as she was not completely conscious of what he said. He snuck up so quietly he might as well have appeared out of thin air. Even as she nodded he was gone just as swiftly as he appeared. "Now that I think about it this is the first mission we've had all together," Signa thought, "Strange that we should be separated for so long. Maybe now I might get to know them better."

She gathered her wits and returned to the tent to retrieve her staff. Everybody had already left. "How long was I just sitting there?" Signa wondered.

It was a short walk to the northern wall. Signa strolled through the small encampment of Ascalon. The merchants, soldiers, and townspeople were just awakening from their slumber and Signa had the pleasure of walking through the city unobstructed by crowds. Through the armory she went noting that the blacksmith had just started to light the fires for his forge. Soon she was up the steps toward the old palace and past the last of the tents onward toward the northern wall.

When she arrived all her comrades were waiting. Q just turned and walked up the stairs toward Captain Calhaan's watch tower upon her arrival.

"Took you long enough." Grumbled Kalen. Zleeda only gave Signa short little smile before trotting after the others. Sheepishly, Signa followed feeling slightly embarrassed at her tardiness. Q was talking quietly with the captain. The captain was a little man with dusty blonde hair and tanned skin. Signa smiled to herself for she thought that he could be Kalen's mini me. Kalen had the same well-tanned complexion and dusty blonde, cropped hair. If Calhaan were just taller and more muscular he might have passed as Kalen's twin.

Q finished speaking with Calhaan who had a worried expression upon his face. "Calhaan fears there is something amiss beyond the wall," Q started, "However he does not know what it might be."

"That's why we're here? For a hunch?" Kalen questioned, irritation written all over his face.

"It's just that no scouts have returned from the north in a long while. That should be more than enough incentive for an investigation" Calhaan replied.

"Absolutely right," Q said, "And we will go investigate as we were ordered to." Kalen grunted. "Zleeda," Q muttered quietly, gesturing to the frontier in front of them.

"Right, this way then!" Zleeda exclaimed, hurrying down to the other side of the wall. The others quickly followed. Soon they were well out of the Old Ascalonian territory and making their way steadily north. As they walked on devourers consistently rose from their burrows to attack. This was no phenomenon as devourers had become a very common pest. These gigantic, two tailed scorpions had somehow managed to thrive above all other species in these wastes. As they rose from the ground, each time Signa raised her staff in excitement, seeking an opportunity to prove her worth to her fellows; however, as each ugly arachnid rose its ugly pincers from the ground, before Signa could act it was already pierced by an arrow, or a sword. The farther along they got on their journey, the more useless Signa began to felt. Here were three great adventurers, each of them older, wiser, and more tested in battle than she. Surely they thought she was only a child incapable of anything.

"Pay attention Signa that one almost got you!" Kalen shouted as he blocked the sting of a devourer with his sword and then stabbed it through its tiny brain.

Signa jumped, indeed that was close. The sting of a devourer was not life threatening but it could put one out of commission for a while. Signa thought maybe she was only luggage the way she was performing right now.

Several Devourers later they entered Charr country. They were in the northlands now; Signa had never been this far north. She had grown up in Regent Valley, a wooded area a day's walk south of Ascalon. Somehow it was even more suffocating here. The dust was thicker and rocky terrain kept her constantly in some depression surrounded by cliffs. No devourers had popped up for a while so they had been able to make quicker ground.

"Shh, take cover" Q suddenly said quite urgently, pointing to a particularly large boulder. Everyone did as he asked. As she crouched Signa accidentally kicked a small piece of armor and without really thinking she shoved it into her pack. Q slowly peered around the rock and saw in a small, tar filled valley a battle occurring. "It seems a small dispute has gone on between a group of grawl and gargoyles" he reported, "They are destroying each other though. Let's wait here until they reduce their numbers more. We have not even walked very far, it troubles me that even these lesser monsters are so close to the borders."

Signa looked up and sighed getting prepared to settle down and wait until she spotted something moving from behind a boulder on a cliff above them. Signa squinted her eyes looking towards the figure. A gargoyle revealed itself, it's thin, unsightly, stone body revealed itself from its surroundings and Signa made eye contact with it or at least she thought she did. Like the rest of its body its eyes were just stone. They were circles of granite with no pupil or iris. Slowly it seemed to turn towards Q, whose gaze was intently on the battle ahead. It raised one stony claw towards his head and a dark magic circled about its talons. Signa acted quickly. She raised her staff in front of her and a bolt of lightning flew from it, splitting the gargoyle into two. The hit made a deafening cracking sound, like a sonic boom.

Kalen cursed, "Aye girl what did you do that for!"

"They heard us," Q spat quickly drawing his bow, "Oh we're in trouble now. Just Q said, the remaining monsters below, two grawl, one normal gargoyle, and one larger gargoyle had noticed the sound and forgotten their quarrel. "Drat they know we're here but they do not know where we hide. We have to be the first to attack now. My arrows will have no effect on those gargoyles. I will start our attack by shooting down the two grawl. Kalen and Zleeda will follow up on the gargoyles. Signa you'd better stay here," Signa ordered glaring at her, "You make FAR too much noise. I fear another disaster like that and the whole of the charr armies will be upon us."

"Q that isn't fair I saw what happened, she—"

"We can debate later Zleeda" Q interrupted, "Now, attack!" he shouted drawing two arrows and shooting the two grawl down with one shot. Kalen raised his sword and ran down into the tar pit towards the gargoyles. Zleeda looked at Signa apologetically and rushed after Kalen into battle.

Luckily, their frontal attack was enough. The gargoyles fell easily from Kalen and Zleeda's combined strength. Q approached as soon as they were down, Signa meekly following. "Well done," he stated shortly as he kneeled by the dead body of the larger gargoyle.

Signa, ashamed of her folly avoided her companions. She wandered around some remains of some pillars and stumbled upon another piece of armor. "Peculiar," she thought to herself, "These greaves match the breastplate I found earlier. Perhaps they are valuable?" She shoved the greaves into her pack as well.

She rejoined her team quietly. Q had finished investigating the matter. He could not draw any information from the encounter. As soon as everyone was ready they moved on. There was not much farther to go. Who knew what awaited them in the northlands.

{Thanks for reading my story and stay tuned for more on the adventures of Signa!}


	6. Chapter 6

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am just representing my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 6

The twisted path forged on and on past broken and lifeless land. Eventually it twisted and split into a fork running along either side of a rock formation. Q signed for the party to come to a halt. Signa looked up from her brooding trudge in the back and rubbed some dust from her eyelashes before looking up to see that a great plateau loomed to their right.

"We need to turn left," Zleeda stated after considering the two paths, "The path to the right only wraps around that plateau before rejoining with the left."

Q nodded slowly but continued to glare up at the hill. His keen, chestnut eyes were riveted to the top of the rock. Signa looked in the direction that Q was looking towards and she to squint her eyes. She could barely make out some wisps of smoke floating into the sky. "A camp" she whispered quietly.

"Yes," Q whispered in return, "If we take the left path we'll be spotted. We'll have to take out whatever is in that camp first, but we'll have to do it quietly."

"What do you suggest?" Kalen asked gruffly looking up at the cliff face of the hill. "That rock is not stable enough to climb, there isn't any place higher for you to shoot from, Zleeda and I sure as hell can't just go charging in."

Signa took a drink from her water bag while the others bickered over what the plan of action should be. A drop of that clear aqua fell from her cheek and fell, glistening, to her shoe. Signa frowned and pointed her staff at it asserting some of her power into the weapon. Briefly, a gust of wind flew from it and dried the shoe, but it also blew up the dust surrounding her shoe and she covered her mouth to prevent coughing as a cloud of dust encompassed her and limited her vision. Signa batted the dust away cursing at herself and looked up to see that the rest of the group was just staring at her. Terrified that she had once again screwed up she cringed at their glares, "S..sorry…" she stuttered.

Q grinned and leaned back casually crossing his arms across his chest, "Signa you're a genius."

Signa stared at him quite blankly, "Pardon?"

He gestured toward her, "We could just sneak right up to the hill, climb the path until we were close enough, and you could cause a dust storm. That way Kalen and Zleeda could go in practically unseen and kill off the watchers."

Signa nodded slowly liking the idea. Her expression was alight with pride at her "genius". Forming up close together, the group began slowly making their ascension to the top of the hill. The path was less sturdy than they first thought and it was a struggle to climb up without making too much commotion. The path was nothing but gravel and one had to tread very carefully in order not to slip and create an avalanche of sharp pebbles. Signa nearly laughed as she heard behind her a string of curses be whispered by Kalen. Once she managed to look to see how he was keeping and saw that he had his limbs spread out as far as they would go in order to prevent his greaves and armor from creaking against each other.

Eventually, and not without a few close calls, the party made it close enough to the top to peer over the cliff side and see what resided at the top. Signa, being the tallest, was the one to look. She sighed in relief seeing only two charr huddled around a fire. One was bigger than the other and wore the armor of a captain. After getting a good look she kneeled down and turned to her comrades. "Two of them, one's a captain."

Q nodded and retrieved his bow from his back as well as an arrow. He knocked the arrow above a section of his bowstring where there was a red stripe and nodded to Signa. "Let's do this." Signa nodded and her heart started to rapidly beat as time almost slowed down. She brought her staff to her side and peeked once more before tapping her staff slightly on the ground. Immediately the wind picked up, blowing the fire out. The dust that had settled in the area began to gather around the two charr. The charr grumbled and began to move around trying to tie stuff down until very soon they could see nothing. Q nodded to Kalen and Zleeda who immediately delved into the storm going for the captain, since the captain had the horn for alerting other charr. Q kneeled behind the cover of the cliff face and watched the fighting carefully. By now Zleeda had managed to separate the captain from his horn and Kalen had managed to turn his attention to them alone. Q, paying close attention, saw the other charr raise a club to hit Kalen over the head with. Quickly Q raised his bow. Keeping his bow straight, Q pulled the bowstring to his nose where his anchor point was. He then closed his left eye and took aim. No sound was made be it the twanging of the string or the swoosh of wind of parting winds, and the arrow flew cleanly through the air and into the charr's cerebral cortex.

The charr fell to the ground and the captain followed. Zleeda jumped up and down with a look of great satisfaction her face. Her sword was covered in blood and Kalen only just barely could get out of the way as she swung it about to fling the foul goop off.

"Crazy, sweaty, sword-swinger!" Kalen cursed aloud with a shaking movement of his fist. Zleeda only grinned and sheathed her blade.

"We have to get moving," Q said after looting the captain and passing the horn over to Signa with a grateful smile. The warriors nodded and soon they were slipping and sliding down the hill back onto their path. It wasn't long before another small group of charr stood in their path. This group also had one who looked to be leading the others, but he did not carry any alarm device. Q allowed for Kalen and Zleeda to attack them front on with back up from himself and Signa.

Zleeda casually threw away the charr she had impaled on her sword and flicked her sword to the ground, delighting in the way the charr blood splattered across the dusty terrain. That was art. The charr landed not too far away its eyes closed forever. Blood trickled toward the edge of her boot tainted with dust and pebbles. As it got closer Zleeda pulled her-self out of this observation and stepped away from the body moving forward to peer through the ruined archway the Charr had camped in front of. "This is the way guys!" she shouted back to the rest of the party after noting her surroundings.

Q padded up to stand behind her and took a look. His eyes surveyed the path before them noticing the walls on each side will holes on either wall. "It looks like a trap, but there is no other way at this point. We have to keep going; somehow I think we are closer than we might want."

Kalen stomped up behind them followed by Signa. Signa had gained a certain respect for the aging warrior. He fought with enough vigor to serve as two, no three men and had none of the arrogance. His armor was spattered with Charr blood and when one of the mangy beasts had pinned him down he had gutted it with his sword without even blinking. It made Signa wonder about his past, how he had become what he was.

Q turned to the two of them with a serious expression, "We are becoming very close to our target location my friends. I must remind us all now that this is not an invasion, a raid, or an attack of any sort. We are here only to gather information." Kalen grumbled something about how in his land the mission would have been left to a spy or a "shadow walker" not a bunch of soldiers, but eventually everyone put in their word of agreement.

They began walking down the narrow path silently, each person holding their breath without even knowing it. Nothing stirred as they walked on, peering through holes in the walls and always watching above. Finally they came to a large gap in the wall to their left, and they saw before them a small bridge leading onward back towards the south from where they came from. Q motioned for them to stop a bit behind the hole to avoid being seen. Slowly he inched his head over and a gasp left his lips.

"Charr, a whole army of them!" he whispered through clenched teeth as he turned to his companions, "They're gathering to push on towards Ascalon City! We have to warn Captain Calhaan and fast! If we don't hurry then the wall will be completely crushed and the city won't stand a chance!"

The rest nodded and as they gathered to run towards the south a horn sounded deafeningly loud. It was the charr general, he had spotted them. A legion small enough to spare, yet big enough to overpower the four adventurers, broke off from the main group and began sprinting towards their viewpoint. Kalen noticed them run up a ramp and head their way. "No time to fight!" he shouted as he gathered his stunned companions, "Just run!"

Soon enough the rest of the party gathered themselves and began to dash across the bridge and towards the south. The charr were not far behind them and they were just as fast. Q took the lead as he was the most nimble and speedy of the group. He was closely followed by Zleeda and then Signa. Kalen took the rear as his armor weighed him down considerably. As they kept running Q continually shot at devourer dens in hopes of slowing their chasers down.

They ran for a very long time and Signa began to lose her sense of direction, sight, even of hearing. All she could hear was the blood pumping through her body. A steady drumming that powered her on. She tried to see what was around her but the dust blurred her vision, she looked left and she looked right but the whole world was blurred and as she looked left and right she could no longer find her comrades. Suddenly she was very frightened, had she fallen behind? Had she taken a wrong turn? Whatever the case she thought it best if she stopped right there. She turned about frantically trying to find her friends. To the south of her she could see the great northern wall looming against the sky. "How did I get this far?" she wondered to herself absent-mindedly. She turned around to face the north and saw specks hurriedly growing bigger. That was when she saw the flash of Kalen's armor. "Signa!" she heard them shout as they got closer. She really had overpassed them, she had no idea how she had gotten such energy, but that hardly mattered to her right now. It seemed that they had outrun the small legion of charr that had chased after them, but she could see a much, much larger mass following suit from a second pathway. Signa could only think that the wall was doomed.

She was snapped back to attention by an arrow thudding by her foot and Q shouting at her once more from a shorter distance away. "SIGNA! TELL CALHAAN TO RETREAT!" Signa nodded in understanding and began to run on towards the wall. She felt as swift as the wind as she ran and wondered at her heightened senses, but as she ran on she felt the new found strength be drained from her and by the time she had approached the wall all she could do was jog. "FULL RETREAT! FULL RETREAT" she shouted up to the Captain. Calhaan nodded to Signa and pulled out his signal horn. He blasted it thrice and called for the retreat. Soldiers shouted and sprinted through the mighty gates as the rest of Signa's party dashed up the stairs. Signa looked over the precipice of the wall at the sea of fur, claw, tail, and fangs that was getting ever closer. Rage filled her heart and she found herself slowly moving down the steps. An armored hand caught her by the collar and yanked her through the black gates just as they closed.

Signa looked around confused and pulled ferociously at the hand that held her. She felt herself being dropped and she launched herself to her feet her eyes blazing. Before she could spout a word she found a very angry Kalen getting right in her face. "YOU IMBECILE!" he shouted, red faced and sweat caked, "DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!" Signa opened her mouth once more in anger and then stopped herself as the past events came back to her. She had just tried to fight an army of charr alone. She looked up her face red with embarrassment. Kalen only snorted and shook his head. "This world is not one of your story books kid; not one of your tall bonfire tales! This is the real world! A world of blood, steel, and death and it's not a world for the lone soldier or the single crusader! You'd best learn that before you lose all your friends in a hopeless cause!" Kalen looked at her seriously at this. His ice blue eyes pierced into her soul with the sense of one who knows. When she began to understand he only turned away sheathing his bloodied sword. He trudged on after the others without a word leaving Signa to stand and watch the procession of soldiers and wall guards alike make their way back to Ascalon. There had been very few casualties thanks to the hard work of the Captain and the attentiveness of his soldiers and they would all live to fight again if needed in defense of the main city. Signa thought that she had to remember too that she was not alone and she had friends and allies to fight beside her. "Not a world for the lone soldier huh?" she wondered to herself, repeating Kalen's wise advice slowly as if to drink in every syllable. With a final nod she left behind the black towers of the wall and ran to rejoin with her fellows.

{Thanks for reading my story and stay tuned for more on the adventures of Signa and please review!}


	7. Chapter 7

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am just representing my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 7

"Sir Master Saberlin is already in the field! There is no need for another party to go out there!" Tydus shouted, looking up at the young prince of Ascalon. Rurik had been pouring over maps and reports for the most part of the past night and all of that day. Sweat and dust lingered under the folds of his armor leathers and the joints of his plate armor creaked from constantly being rubbed together. Rurik himself looked as worn down as what he wore; since he was not wearing a helmet his hair was unkempt and knotted every which way.

By the table in front of him stood his dear friends; Lieutenant Langmar, Captain Greywind, and Captain Arne. "What would you have me do Tydus?" Rurik questioned rather exasperatedly. He stopped his incessant pacing and looked toward his friend; his arms were open in a gesture of botheration.

"Give Armin some more time. His men have been able to hold out so far they just need a push."

"And I am giving him his push!" Rurik retorted, "Signa's team is the best suited for this mission I knew it from the beginning! Sending Saberlin and just one legion of men was a horrendous decision!"

Tydus looked at his superior pleadingly as he replied, "And sending in a team that may not be needed is an unnecessary and unwise decision! This a risk with disastrous consequences sir! What if something should go amiss? What if you lose both teams in the attack? Then we'll be chest deep in this war without our very best assets!"

"Tydus your lack of confidence in Signa's team surprises me! I will debate this no longer I am releasing Signa's team to help in the re-taking of the great northern wall and that is final." Rurik asserted before storming out of the tent with no more than a swish of his red cloak in the direction of his advisors. He walked toward the hero's designated tent. As he passed farmers, merchants, and peasants alike bowed with smiling, trusting faces; it made his heart ache. They could never know that their "impeccable" king was too blind to see that this fight for Ascalon was a losing battle. Rurik pressed onward through dust and toward the tent. He idly fidgeted with the feather that hung about his neck before entering.

Q looked up from where he was sitting. There was a wooden shaft in his right hand and a feathered fletching in the other as he was in the process of making arrows. The rest of the group was sitting across from each other on the other side of the tent. When the prince entered, the whole group got up and kneeled before him. Rurik sighed, "Get up my friends... I have a task for you."

Signa slowly looked at her companions and rose her head to her prince, "What task is this my lord?"

The prince smiled wearily and began a steady pace across the entrance of the tent. "In the effort to retake the northern wall we have lost an entire trebuchet front and currently Master Armin Saberlin and his legion are the only men holding back a charr assault. Things look grim, but from what Saberlin has been reporting one push could be all we need to surge forward into their territory. I need you to be that push."

Kalen nodded stoically. He stood and walked out past Rurik to retrieve his sword and strap it to his belt. "What are we waiting for?" He asked brusquely as the rest of the party stared rather densely after him. The three others, all caught unawares, shuffled and scrambled over each other to get ready. Q grabbed his bow, arrows, and dagger; Signa retrieved her oaken staff; and Zleeda grabbed her oversized sword. Kalen only walked on forward muttering lowly, "Rookies."

"By order of the lord prince you are to let us pass onward" Signa said to the young guard in front of them. The boy could not have been older than Signa, perhaps only 17 even. There was a scruff of a beard on his delicate chin and his eyes were still full of the arrogance of youth. He also smelled.

"I cannot let you through girly it's a war zone on the other side" he said disdainfully, puffing his armored chest out.

Kalen stepped forward, and although Signa was a good head taller than he, his bulk made Signa look like a child. He towered over this kid and looked down with stern, ice-blue eyes. "Let us through brat. Surely the orders of the prince are enough to approve our leave, or do you need more convincement?" There was a dangerous glint in the older man's eyes.

The kid gulped and shook in his little leather boots before standing aside allowing them access through the large wooden gate. "I-I just remembered y-you can pass through right away s- sir."

Kalen only smirked and pushed past the guard, opening the doors with ease, "That is what I thought." The rest of the party sniggered and moved through. Before the gates closed Signa stuck her head back in and stuck her tongue out at the flustered guard.

They walked onward for a while longer and eventually came towards the battle front. A group of soldiers were just about to charge toward the fighting and Signa's group joined in. They ran energetically towards the fighting crying for the honor of Ascalon. There were five charr fighting against a few scattered soldiers in front and Signa could see past the top of their heads to an even larger group further on. Zleeda was the first to get to the fighting and the charr hardly had time to say, "kill" before she was upon them. Her sword gleamed and blood splattered the dusty ground as the charr fell. Zleeda laughed and attacked another charr just as quickly shouting her own personal war cry, "BANZAIII!"

Signa stayed with Q a good distance away while Kalen and Zleeda dispatched the rest of the group. Signa went into the small plaza that held the next group first. She had been practicing her magic and wanted to try out a new spell first thing. She gathered her power deep within her and her staff began to glow red. She looked up after a few seconds of this and then thrust her staff forward. "Lava Font!" she shouted as the ground underneath the charr legion super-heated, swelled, and finally burst into a fountain of magma. Many of the charr instantly died and more ran off with their fur on fire. None survived.

Kalen silently walked past Signa and patted one hand against her shoulder before moving on up the stairs opposite of them, "Good job." Signa smiled.

At the top of the steps they found Armin Saberlin and his men fighting a large charr necromancer. Saberlin was struggling against a particularly large minion of the necromancer. His sword made sparks against the sharp bone of the undead being. While Zleeda, Signa, and Kalen caused a distraction by going for the remainder of the minions, Q snuck behind a boulder to the right of the scene and waited patiently. When the opportunity struck, he let an arrow fly and it gracefully swooped through the air and into the necromancer's throat. The minions all fell limp to the ground as the necro's life's blood spilled and seeped into the dusty sand.

"Hail heroes!" Saberlin shouted, hurrying over to Signa who happened to be the only one not throwing some minion or another's limp body off of someone else.

"Oh, um.. hi?" Signa said unsurely. Normally Q was the one who led these expeditions, but he had been rather quiet as of late and for some reason the rest turned to her for direction next. Was it because she was tall?

"I am so pleased you came, your group is just what we need to win back the wall! We've got the Charr on their heels, there numbers have drawn back and they've left themselves vulnerable! A few days ago we got reports that some of the trebuchet engineers and guards still lived across from the wall! If we can just somehow find the trebuchets and make use of them, we can definitely take back the wall! Oh, and by we I mean you."

"Come again?" Signa asked, she had thought this mission had been about assisting the soldier.

"Your team will be the team that takes on this task, my men are spread out too thin I can't risk another group, if you find my son though, please send him my way. I should never have let the boy go off and attempt this mission."

"So wait we're doing this ourselves?" Signa asked incredulously. Armin began to walk away and whistle a jester's tune. "Hey wait!" Signa called, "We're only-!" Armin disappeared around a large boulder, "Four people…" Signa trailed off.

Zleeda wiped some blood from her cheek and approached Signa from behind, "So, what now?"

Signa sighed and turned around looking at the waiting gate that lie before them, "We march forward and kill furry monsters."

Zleeda grinned, "Sounds like a party."


	8. Chapter 8

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am just representing my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 8

"Is that him?"

"Yeah. That's Saberlin's son."

Zleeda shifted in her armor and placed a gloved hand on the dry boulder that was serving as the party's cover, "So what are we waiting for?" she asked in an irritated tone, "Let's go kill some charr!"

"It's not that simple" Signa replied, "If we go in swords held high they might kill the prisoners before we can save them."

"Oh, well, what do we do?" the warrior asked as she shifted from side to side.

Signa cringed at the sound of metal clinking against metal; she muttered heatedly, "Quit that you'll attract the entire Charr army. I don't really know what to do, Q do you have anything for us?"

Q looked up from where he had sat himself. He shoved something in a pouch and looked blankly up at Signa, "Huh? I'm sorry, repeat the question please."

Signa sighed, "Nevermind. Let's see, maybe if we can get to the other side before they can react we can protect the prisoners while fighting…"

Zleeda frowned, "Well there are those sharp rocks on the other side, I don't think we can approach from that side."

"Why do you think we are here?"

"Right."

Kalen butted in between the two ladies and yawned, "Can't you use one of your magic tricks to rip their heads off or something?"

"Spells," Signa corrected, "And I'm an elementalist not a poltergeist." A charr looked near their hiding spot and Signa ducked further behind the boulder.

Kalen grumbled and peeked over the boulder, "I'm getting really bored here and Q isn't done fiddling with his toy-"

"Huh?" Q said looking around him blankly.

"Nothing Q," Kalen whispered, "As I was saying since the brilliant Q is distracted, we seem to be stuck."

"Stuck!" Signa exclaimed before covering her mouth in panic from the loud noise. She whispered, "Stuck! That's it! If I can keep their feet stuck to the ground we could have enough time to get to the other side to protect the prisoners!"

"Better than what I was thinking. We might as well try it" Kalen stated.

"Alright then, run on the count of three," Signa whispered, slowly positioning the head of her staff to point at the ground under the Charr's feet, "One, two, three! Frost touch!" A blue light emerged from the staff and ice covered the ground. The Charr growled and found themselves stuck in place as frost and ice latched onto their furry feet. Zleeda and Kalen charged followed by Signa, however as soon as they got onto the ice they began to slip and fall. Zleeda and Kalen bowled into the two nearest charr. Signa fell on her chest and knocked over one of the three Charr nearest to the prisoners. She attempted to get to her feet and found a rudimentary key in front of her. She snatched it up and spotted the charr she knocked over dash for the cell. Another charr soon blocked her view and kicked her away from the cells. She skidded into a rock and raised her staff once the charr got close. A ball of flame spat into its armor and the charr screamed falling to the ice. Signa slowly pulled herself up and raised her staff to take down the next enemy only to see there was no one left. The rest of the charr all had red-fletched arrows protruding from each of their heads. Signa turned toward the boulder and saw Q sitting upon it with his bow across his lap.

"Q-" Signa started.

"Too loud," he interrupted immediately, "Whose idea was it to use ice anyways?"

Signa laughed nervously and hurried over to the prisoner's cage before anyone could respond. She was careful to step around melting chunks of ice and dead bodies. The key fit into the lock and the Ascalonian soldiers poured out with many a "Thank you," and a "That was awesome!"

Young Deeter Saberlin came out last and bowed to Signa, "Thank you my lady, my squad and I are forever in your debt. Anything you want of us, please just ask."

Signa smiled brightly, "Would you like to help us take back the Northern Wall?"

"Umm actually I think I hear my father calling me. Come on men!" Deeter quickly pranced off leaving Signa in his dust.

Zleeda walked over beside Signa cleaning blood from her sword. She snickered, "Like father like son?"

Signa crossed her arms in irritation, "Yup."

Kalen scoffed, "And they call themselves men. Let's just get going we've got work to do." The rest of the party quickly agreed, and after looting the bodies of the charr they made their way onward through the canyons of the charr territory. Charr lined the edges of the cliffs watching the path below and so the party took the high route, taking down Charr that stood in their way and making use of Q's archery skills and Signa's spells to dispatch any Charr on the other side. It did not take them long to arrive at their destination. Q had once again taken the lead for now and walked ahead of the party using his keen eye sight to search for the trebuchets and any surviving engineers.

Zleeda leaned in close to Signa and whispered, "I feel like something's up with Q lately, he's really distracted you know? Keeps toying around with that thing he keeps in his pocket and never really talks about it. Think we should ask?"

Signa contemplated this and replied, "Not now, he's finally paying attention to the mission and I don't know how much longer I can keep making bad decisions. We can ask after the mission is over."

Zleeda nodded in agreement, "Alright if you say so, also you don't make bad decisions they just don't really turn out as planned."

Signa rolled her eyes, "Thanks."

Q halted in front of a path that had steep cliffs on either side. He seemed to listen for a minute before sprinting down the path very suddenly. All they heard was him shout, "A cry for help!"

Kalen quickly followed drawing his sword as he ran. Zleeda went next and Signa took the rear. Turning a corner in the path the party came across Q attempting to protect a young laborer from two charr warriors using twin knives. Zleeda charged and began combating one of the charr while Kalen helped Q with the other. Signa carried the young man to a safe distance for the man could not walk on his own. Signa laid him down on the ground and noticed his ashen skin and the deep red gashes across his chest. "Stay with me sir you'll be alright" Signa lied.

"The siegemaster is still back there! You must assist him, fix the trebuchet, there's still a chance," he began to choke, "My name is Peter…"

Signa looked grimly at the dying man, "Thank you Peter, your sacrifice will not go in vain, you will be remembered." Signa waited until he drew his last breath and then slowly closed his unseeing eyes. She turned to find her team bowing their heads in respect, the two dead charr lying behind them.

Q sheathed his knives and turned to face the path in front of them beyond the charr, "We must keep moving." The rest gravely nodded and followed him down the path. It opened out into the small valley that opened out to the Great Northern Wall. Below them, further down the valley, there was a large camp of charr settled on a bank of the tar river that flowed before the wall. There were at least 30 of them, and even more camped on the other side of the river.

"How do we kill all those charr" Zleeda asked in wonder.

Signa stepped forward and scanned their side of the river, "We find the siegemaster of Peter and we fix his trebuchet." She marched forward sticking to the wall to their right and scanned left and right for the siegemaster. It did not take them long to spot a single, wrecked trebuchet sat upon a flat plateau. The adventurers approached with caution and found a single human man hiding in some bushes near the machine. Signa whispered and approached the bush, "Siegemaster, we've come to help you!"

The man quickly stood from his hiding place. He had a grizzly beard; a shiny bald head; and muscles fit for warrior, however, deep bags under his eyes revealed the worry and fear he was experiencing. "Peter found help so fast!" he exclaimed, "Tell me, where is my boy?"

Signa slowly shook her head.

"I-..I see. He died then, still, you are here.." Signa's heart called out to him as he choked these words out, "My name is Siegemaster Lormar. Peter must have told you then that my trebuchet has broken. Currently it's aimed at that nasty group of charr on our side of the river, but it's missing parts. If I could just get those parts from some of the other broken trebuchets around, then we could take those charr down and move on to the other side of the river.

Q stepped forward, "We will retrieve the parts. Just stay here and stay hidden."

Lormar nodded and quietly retreated to his bush. The party silently moved on and began scouring the area for the trebuchet parts. Kalen retrieved an arming crank that was in the wreckage of a trebuchet not far to the north; Q salvaged a restraining bolt from another wreck to the east, and Zleeda found a release lever on a charr patrolman. The three returned to Lormar along with an empty-handed Signa.

"Will this be enough?" Kalen asked as he looked up at the tall trebuchet.

"That will be plenty, thank you" Lormar replied taking the different machine parts from the heroes. He quickly got to work, hammering the different parts into their places and testing their stability. Before long he took a step back and placed a large rock covered in a rag into the trebuchet's holding compartment. "Once I set this on fire, the ammunition will explode in about ten seconds so as soon as I light it you need to pull that lever."

"I understand," Signa said, standing by the lever, "Ready when you are."

Lormar nodded and lit a torch before quickly setting the rag on fire, "Fire!" he shouted.

Signa pulled on the lever with all her strength, finding it surprising hard to pull. Kalen had to help her pull it and all got to watch as the large explosive went sailing through the air. Just as Lormar had said, it landed dead in the center of the charr encampment and exploded upon impact. Zleeda squealed in delight as they had the experience of watching every single charr soldier get blown to bits or burn to death.

"There is another trebuchet on the other side of the river aimed at the second encampment near the staircase. Kill the guards of the wall and then take down the general up top and you'll have the wall. Once there you can light the brazier and expect reinforcements from Ascalon" Lormar said tiredly, "I will stay here and await their arrival, thank you heroes, for all that you have done."

Q placed a hand on the larger man's shoulder and nodded, "It is us who thank you. Stay safe my friend." Q turned and nodded to his friends before sprinting down the valley toward the river. When they arrived, Signa found that it was less of a river of tar, and more of a brook of tar. It was easy to simply hop over the revolting black liquid. Right in front of them there was a small hill with a second trebuchet already loaded. Surrounding it were several dead Ascalonians rotting in the noon day sun. Q turned to Kalen, "Kalen, pull the lever. Signa light the ammo."

Signa only nodded and aimed her staff at the ammo. A simple fire spell lit it aflame and Kalen quickly launched it into the unsuspecting Charr camp. The charr fell in a symphony of roars and curses. Q slowly turned and began to walk towards the wall, "We're not done yet guys. Come on." Signa avoided looking at the dead bodies around them and nodded, feeling sick. The group ran forward with Signa lagging behind and Signa hardly even remembered battling the large white charr that was awaiting their charge. Her mind was a torrent of sickness. All she could remember were the faces of those young men who had died by the trebuchet, and of Peter who had died in an attempt to get help for his father and the battle for the wall. "Signa" Kalen muttered, shaking her shoulder, "Signa, we need you to light the brazier."

Signa was started from her thoughts and wearily nodded, "Ri-right." She aimed her staff at the large brazier in front of them and set it alight, watching the flames reach up to the broken sky. She then walked forward and leaned on the ramparts of the wall. "The charr forces never end Q, what hope do we have. They are so many and we are so little. This fight cannot be a winning one."

Q sighed and walked forward speaking loud enough so that all his friends might hear, "It is not a winning one Signa. This is a battle that cannot be won, and that can be confirmed with the Prince himself. We are fighting the King's war for the King's own pride and nothing else. To reserve his dignity from the Krytans, Adelbern will surely see his own people fall."

Signa turned around and scowled angrily, "But why?! So many young men and women, so many futures, all is lost! For just one man children are losing their mothers and fathers!"

Q nodded, "Prince Rurik has said the same words to me yet the King locks himself in the capital of Ree under siege by the Charr armies. We have not the resources to reach him, yet the Prince is determined. That is enough talk though, look there. They have seen our signal." Q pointed to the south where they could see a small blinking light.

Kalen looked on and tiredly nodded before turning to Signa, "Q is right. Such subject matter can be discussed when we are back in our tent or speaking with Rurik himself. It will take the army about an hour to get here. Get some rest. The dark is enclosing about us, I will take first watch." The rest of the party silently agreed and huddled nearby the crackling brazier before drifting off to sleep, one by one.

{Thank you for reading my story and please review/comment! Feed back is welcomed~}


	9. Chapter 9

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am simply presenting my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 9

The valiant Prince of Ascalon trudged towards the group tent with a heart that was laden with worry and guilt. He looked less the part of a Prince and more of a front-line soldier judging by the mud that splattered his armor, the dents that riddled the fine metal, and the grim countenance that had settled on his features. He nodded to passing Ascalonians in greeting and feigned a smile and a elegant nod to levy their worries if not his own. The dust billowed beneath his boots as he marched and clung to the niches of his armor. He stopped finally at the tent flap, and after a rally of mental debate he decided to enter.

In the tent, four neatly made cots inhabited each corner. "So they have not yet returned" he thought aloud. The cot to his left was bare of any decoration. Rurik deduced this to be the cot of the ever stoic Kalen Morthaur. Rurik had always admired his qualities; Kalen was a warrior through and through. The cot on the far left had wooden shafts and feathers gathered by the bed. Rurik guessed that it must be Q's cot.

Rurik thought Q to be a very interesting character. He was extremely clever and skilled as a leader, yet, according to recent reports, he has also been very quiet in imssions and distracted from leading. Rurik had conversed with Q many times over the harsh years so this new development in his attitude was a bit concerning.

The beds to the right were Zleeda and Signa's. One had a variety of sword polishes scattered around the bed. Among the myriad of Devourer oils, he thought he spotted a rare, Elonian roller beetle brand polish.

The other bed had a single silver seed contained in a magically enchanted jar on the bed head. Rurik recognised this seed to be a Silver Tree seed. He wondered at it and thought that Signa must have salvaged it from her village and kept it safe with magic. It had the semblance of a fallen star, or a piece of sparkling dew.

The seed held his attention for a short while before he turned away and sat upon Q's bed. The small cot creaked under the weight of his armor, and he felt the thin straw mattress slowly sink. He felt surprised when the descension stopped upon encountering a large, solid object under the bed.

"What is this?" he pondered . Curiosity overtook him and he removed himself from the cot before crouching underneath to see what it was that was hidden there. Carefully he removed a heavy wooden chest.

Gold infused with metal was inlaid into the edges of the top; the visages of four different animals graced the four walls of the chest; and a beautiful gold inlaid visage of an eagle encompassed the lid. A single lock stagnantly remained on the chest. The lock had a very strangely shaped keyhole and Rurik could tell by the scratches around the keyhole that many attempts had been made to open it. Dust covered the rest of the box.

"Has Q been trying to open this? Perhaps I can help. What is inside could be very important." Rurik drew his flame sword, the *Orrian sword Sohothin, and gently spoke the incantation that would activate it's power. The famed sword was fashioned after the flames of a dragon. The hilt resembled a dragon breathing two spouts of flame in the form of two tempered steel blades entwining into a double helix. Upon summoning the power of the blade, flame encompassed the blade. Rurik held the tip, the hottest point of the fire, against the metal of the lock and waited. It only took a few minutes for the metal to grow red hot. Satisfied, Rurik uttered the spell that would stop the power. The enchanted flame faded leaving the sword quite cool. Next Rurik pulled an ordinary dagger from a little sheath in his boot. A short jab split the lock in two.

The chest was full of hay and smelled a touch musty, and just a little bit of rosemary. Rurik carefully began to sift through the hay, astounded by the freshness of the grass, but wary of the fragility of what it may hide. It was not long before his reaching fingers encountered what was underneath. He grabbed ahold of it and drew it out. Daylight reflected off a brilliant, ivory horn. The bone curved smoothly and was carved in the shape of an eagle's head. The only monster large enough to produce such a large ivory horn was one of the great, giant ice wurms of the far north. "This much ivory on a single horn? I have not seen so much ivory since visiting the-" Rurik was struck by a sudden realization, "That's it."

"My prince, what are you doing crouching beside my bed?" questioned a quiet, and weary voice.

Signa had seen to helping Siegemaster Lormar get proper medical care and shelter before returning to her tent with her companions. Upon approaching, she began to hear the muffled shouting of flustered, angry men.

"I thought you needed some help!" Rurik exclaimed.

"Help?! Not for these things! I was going to do it myself! Now I cannot take what is inside without feeling guilty for not having earned it!"

"Are you sure you can't take it? It's pretty cool, it's a-"

"Don't tell me!"

"What is going on here?" Signa inquired quietly as she stepped in between Kalen and Zleeda.

Kalen had the look of someone who didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused. "Well it seems Rurik has opened Q's box for him."

"That doesn't seem so bad" Signa commented.

"Oh it's bad," Zleeda whispered, "It's an honor thing with him. He prefers to earn things and loves challenges. He was probably working on a lockpick for chest all this time, hence the withdrawn-ness."

"Oh" Signa frowned. Warily she stepped toward the oblivious verbal opponents with the hopes of putting an end to their strange battle.

"Q come on it was your chest! I'm not going to take this from you!"

"Well I didn't open the chest so it doesn't belong to me."

"What exactly are we arguing over?" Signa interrupted. She stood in close proximity to them; resembling a water tower amidst cottages.

Rurik brought out the subject of issue from the opened chest, "This, it's a norn-made horn."

"Norn-made?" Signa asked, wondering exactly what that implied.

"A relic of the warriors of the far north," Rurik replied, "This one looks like a trophy of some sort seeing how it is made."

"Signa traced her fingers softly over the horn and turned it over in her hands. "Well if Q doesn't want it," she started, "I'd be happy to take it."

"Anything to get this business over with and move on," Rurik muttered, "Anyways we have a mission."

"We, sir?" Zleeda asked.

"Yes. I am going as well," Rurik announced with a look of stern resolution, "I have received word from my father. The Charr have laid siege on the city of Rin. The Charr plan to burn the city down."

"Isn't that the capital?" Kalen questioned, "In Carpathia our capital would not be so easily taken."

"Carpathia does not have a prideful fool for a king. Anyhow we need to extinguish the flames of the Charr shamans long enough to retrieve my father from the inner city and Q's horn-"

"Signa's horn." Q corrected.

"Signa's horn gave me an idea. We will use the Stormcaller."

"Sir, Stormcaller has been broken for decades" Q said.

"And I know how to fix it. We go into the ruins of Surmia tomorrow. From there we will go to the Nolani Academy, and then to Rin."

* (Here's a check up on some of the Guild Wars lore! For those of you who do not know, in the world of Guild Wars there are multiple continents, or lands. The one that the story is currently set in is called Tyria. The others are Elonia, Cantha, and Orr. While Elonia and Cantha are highly inhabited and consistently make contact with Tyria, Orr remains a bit of a mystery in Guild Wars one and has the sense of a mystical, and anciently powerful territory. Orrian weapons, therefore, are well sought after in the other continents for their power and special qualities.)

**(Thank you for reading this series and please review/comment/message me with your feedback or just to say hi! Have a magical day!) **


	10. Chapter 10

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am simply presenting my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 10

"So how long has it been now?" Zleeda muttered as she traced one finger across the slick surface of a seared crystal.

"Ten minutes," Signa sighed, "Give him a bit more time I'm sure he's busy."

"Busy or not he still ought to be here on time for his own mission. It's comon decency. Had I been late for squad call back at home I'd be running laps around Carminth city and-"

"Shush!" Signa interrupted much to Kalen's annoyance, "He's coming."

The golden prince ran up to the group with his famous sword already in hand. The metallic plating of his armor shone in Signa's eyes and foretold a rather difficult mission for the lot of them. "Sorry I am late," Rurik finally said with the mien of someone who was announcing rather than apologizing.

Q sighed with a simple shake of his head. Signa could see him thinking about how closely Rurik resembled a lighthouse for Charr. "That's alright sir," he politely replied, "Let's just-"

"Rin awaits!" cried the youth as the befuddled group watched the mobile signal light speed away.

"S-sir! Wait! Come on guys!" Signa shouted frantically while running after him. It wasn't long before they found him waging war against a baby devourer.

"Back you foul beast!" he shouted energetically, enjoying the sound of the blades of his sword ring against the carapace of the creature.

"Sir please keep it down," Q whispered hurriedly cringing at the uproar and the baby's squeals, "You'll wake its-"

"SCCCCREEEEEEEEEEEE~"

"...Mother."

Before any of them could react, the ground rocked and knocked them to their arses. First one segmented-death leg, then two sprouted from the ground to rooted itself just inches away from Rurik's head on either side. The rest of its body soon followed. Four more spiny legs; a hard, chitinous carapace; a huge, arthropod mouth; and three menacing scorpion tails erupted and showered the young prince in dust.

Signa thought her head was going to split into miniscule bits as it screeched again sounding similar to Grenth crying. Her hands flew to her ears and her staff fell to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she could just barely register seeing Zleeda in a similar state and Q trying to draw an arrow. The screeching ended suddenly and Signa saw a flash of armor fly past her and forward. When she looked up Kalen was on top of the beast with his sword embedded in between it's chitin plates. She saw that the thing was about to collapse under the weight of the large man and his larger armor as it's proportionally thin legs buckled and clawed at the ground. She took the moment to grab her staff and hook it behind Rurik's armor collar. A single thrust pulled the dazed prince away from danger and just before the arachnid fell with steel through its chest cavity.

"Are you okay?" Signa finally said after shaking the initial shock of the screech from herself.

"WHAAAAT?"

Signa cringed and held her head, "Hang in there buddy." With a tap on his shoulder she was standing again using quite a bit of support from her staff. Q was trying to dislodge his arrow from a dead tree, Kalen was trying dislodge his sword from the Devourer broodmother's chest, and Zleeda was trying to not dislodge her breakfast from her stomach. After a few minutes of intense blinking Rurik stood as well and Signa was glad for the dust that covered his metal liability.

"IS EVERYONE OKAY?!" he shouted clumsily sheathing his sword."

"YES! Yes... everyone is okay.." Signa replied trying to bite back her exasperation.

"THEN ONWARD WE HAVE A KINGDOM TO SAVE!" he continued pushing past Signa who could not believe that the man was still walking. It took another half-minute for her to realize that she was staring as the half-deaf king ran off into charr territory with about as much ability to draw a sword as a minstrel after a few glasses can sing.

"Guys, guys prince! Ran off!" She managed stumbling a few steps after him.

"Oh! For crying out loud!" Kalen shouted running after him first. He teetered a bit and Signa had the image of a great mountain falling on it's side for a moment. Q was next to regain his senses and follow with Signa after him and Zleeda taking the rear.

"I'd forgotten my memory dear friend," Rurik softly whispered. Heading now deeper into Charr territory the group had been quiet for a long while so the voice startled Signa slightly.

"I'm sorry, forgotten your memory sir?" Signa inquired.

"You call me Rurik Signa I don't think I can stand any more 'Sir's' or 'Lord Prince's'."

"Oh, okay then, forgotten your memory Rurik?"

"Yes, I'd forgotten how I could walk through these wastes and still see home; as it was, as it should be. I walk through these roads and see the picnic spot I sat at with my mother and father; I see the merchant's caravan with the silks, instruments, and players! Do you remember Nick? The trader from the garden that we discovered? Oh the gifts he gave us Signa. Bottle rockets, honeycombs, sparklers..."

Rurik went on and Signa smiled a genuine, yet bittersweet smile. His reminiscing bit to her core, made her relive the coldness that attacked her heart at seeing the last leaf fall, at seeing the smoking ruins of her lifelong home. Soon however both of them were interrupted from their thoughts as they felt a gentle hand on either of their shoulders.

Q moved himself between them and pointed at the area before them. A great river of tar was stretched out before them and guarded on either side by Charr. On their side of the muck a Charr force was guarding a large cage full of Ascalonian men.

"Those are fellow countrymen!" Rurik hissed with a seething scowl forming on his face, "We must help them."

"I was just thinking of a pla-... and he's gone." Q muttered as dust was kicked up in front of him and a shining prince went running down the hill.

"Again?" Signa muttered.

"Buck up kid," Kalen chuckled with a small grin, "You weren't much different."

"Kalen you can't mean that!" Signa called after the older man as he went charging down the hill. "Q?" She started, but he was already gone. "Zleeda.."

"Prince in trouble? Oh yes prince in trouble! Sorry Signa I gotta take this" the older woman replied trying to restrain her laughter.

"...Right." Signa grumbled. Dejectedly she followed the rest down the hill feeling a bit more self-aware. By the time she got down the rest had already taken down the opposition and freed the joyous soldiers.

Prison by prison the heroes made their way through the outer Charr territories and northward. With each bony cage and each thankful, yet beaten face Rurik only grew more and more grim. Devourers fell in dozens and Signa could hardly keep up with the group's pace as she tripped over rock, crystal, staff, and tar.

Finally they came to a cage at the end of a particularly deep tar string. Signa hurried to the rest after seeing the men inside for these men in particular were wearing no armor and very little clothing. The men's faces were as bare as their clothing and the gratitude resonating from their faces could not be described; one man, however, stood in front of the cage and bowed immediately. He was an elderly fellow with a long grey beard and eyes sunken in so that Signa thought they might become lost in his skull. A few grey rags served as his clothing, but Signa could see on one shoulder a very faint crest of fire.

"My Lord," the man rasped, weakly getting to his knees and bowing.

"I recognize your face," Rurik started staring at the man. He stared a few moments until something seemed to connect in his mind, "Erol! Erol of the Spark! What are you doing here good man you, you were on duty during the searing! I thought you all dead..."

"Not dead my lord captured!" Erol replied.

"Captured? You mean all this time?!" Rurik asked incredulously.

"Yes sir, they've been feeding us with devourer meat, eggs, and rainwater. Many have died yet to their torture, but some yet survive!"

"But those men that were with you in the prison, they were not magic users?" inquired the prince.

"No sir, what remains of the mages is locked away further north-east. They are held near the academy transport gates and tortured daily for the spell to get through."

Rurik stared at the man, face aghast, "And have any of them spoken? Is the gate lost?"

"Not that I've heard of my lord. The beasts speak mostly in grunts but consistently they have been grunts of frustration.

Rurik turned quickly to his friends, "We must hurry our expedition my friends. If those mangled monsters get the secret first then we are all doomed. Come! Erol you are with me."

"Yes sir!"

Before the rest of the party could speak the old man and the prince were off down the path. By now Signa could only grit her teeth and keep running. There was a long way yet to go.

"Damn them they've closed the gate" Rurik cursed, standing in front of a massive wooden bridge gate. Q found him standing there with the old man now resting on his back. The poor man was no heavier than a sack of barley and Rurik had no trouble carrying him around.

"Is there another way across?" Q asked quietly, "I'm afraid I am not familiar with this country."

"The only other way is under the bridge, but I cannot bring Erol across the tar is too deep. A moment of silence fell over the group and Kalen especially decided to take a particular interest in the swirling black sky. Signa rolled her eyes, "I'll do it," she muttered.

"Excellent we will be waiting here for you," Rurik announced.

"Oh I know you will," Signa grumbled as she walked away from the bridge entrance and down to the tar. After a few moments of contemplation she casted an ice spell on the area where the tar ran thinnest. A clumsy slide later and she was on the other side. She ran up quickly and spotted two Charr archers and a single blade wielder. The archers went down quickly with meteor spells, but the blade wielder required some expert blocking and a couple well placed lightning cantrips. With the area clear she pulled the gate lever and nodded in satisfaction as the doors on both her side and the far side swung open on alarmingly oiled hinges. It did not take long before she and the rest of the party were on their way again.

Moving on with the stealth of a prowling cat, the team forged their way through the Charr base camp. To their left lay a large clearing surrounded by sharp ridges. A few glimpses through the cracks in the rocks revealed a large Charr legion sitting around spits of meat.

"It would be best to skirt that mess," Rurik whispered quietly as he led the party around the area. Ahead of them was a gate as large as the bridge gate and a single Charr shaman guarding it. To his left was an obsidian cage.

"That must be where they are holding my men," Erol whispered, "I'd heard the Charr boast of their cleverness in holding the 'meat' in a place that 'they can't burn down.'"

"Thank you Erol."

Q stepped in front of both of them whilst stringing his long bow, "But first we have to deal with that brute. He is a magic wielder of some sort so we must be careful."

"I'll trust you with this one then Q" Rurik said.

Q just nodded and motioned for the others to hide behind a nearby searing crystal. He positioned himself a bit closer behind a large rock. Every movement he made was calculated, thought out, and then executed with perfection. Knock attached to string, arrow rested on finger, the pull back, all was perfect. There was an arrow lodged in his cranium before the charr could know what hit him.

The path now clear, the rest moved forward and stood in front of the obsidian cage. Hearing the commotion some men with clothes equally as tattered as Erol's moved from the shadows. All the men were missing fingers, toes, and even ears. Some were mutilated enough to make Signa cringe with sympathy; yet at the sight of their Lord Prince smiles lit up their faces.

"Have you come to save us my lord?" one youth asked standing on his right leg to save the stub of his left foot.

"We haven't said a word. Not one of us" said a very young girl who had a dirty bandage wrapped around one eye.

"Yes I have come to save you. All of you have done your country a great service and all of it's people owe you a great debt. I am very proud" Rurik replied. The gentle smile on his face was heartbreaking.

"You would have done a hundred times more my prince," an older man said, leaning on the wall for support.

Erol stepped forward now, "He absolutely would have, but now is not the time for praise or greeting. We are all in grave danger and we must leave immediately.

"Erol is right," Rurik whispered as if he were suddenly aware of the danger that lurked just little bit away, "We must leave through the Nolani gate."

"My lord they have shaman's surveying the magic of the gate day and night. There is no way for us to get it open without attracting attention and fighting them" warned the first young man.

"At least we will not fight all of them then. I will open the gate myself. If I remember correctly there were flame stands set up outside of the gate and my friends here can help to protect you. You must trust me there is no other way" Rurik pleaded.

The mages slowly nodded one by one, "We trust you with our life and we will follow till that life is ended."

"Then let us go."


	11. Chapter 11

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am simply presenting my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 11

It was eerily silent. Dust rose and fell around the adventurers and mages as they walked and hobbled by. Four obsidian statues rose in reverence to the sky with their sharp edges reaching for the clouds. They stood guard before two gigantic doors standing stolidly closed.

"Here we are. Everyone take your positions" Rurik whispered as he approached the gate.

The mages split in twos and gathered at the four obelisks. The same look of determination was worn on each face.

Signa was stationed at one of the farthest obelisks across from Q since they were the fastest. A silence as complete as the full moon fell over them all. Then Rurik began to chant.

**"Come to the fore, O sons of Ascalon"** he shouted starting the spell. A great roar arose that nearly drowned out his voice.

"Stand ready!" Q ordered, with an arrow already knocked. Signa raised her staff in front of her and took one deep breath. Then they came.

The courtyard had three large openings and charr raced in. Six from each side attacked brandishing swords of scrap metal and hammers of crystal.

**"Now join the men who live to guard us all! Go and defend atop the Northern Wall!"**

The flaming scepter mages got to work. Bolt after bolt, meteor after meteor the charr fell. Signa shot her own magic left and right to protect the young girl behind her but the charr kept coming.

**"Fear not the cost, whether in blood or gold. Mourn not the lost, though they will not grow old!"**

By the gate Kalen and one of the older mages protected Rurik as Charr swarmed them. Signa saw Zleeda have to come over and kick a monster off of Kalen's back.

**"If here they fall we know they shall live on! When e'er you call or cry, For Ascalon! For Ascalon!"**

Finally there was a rumbling creak; a roaring thunder that caused all the charr to lay still. They were taken down in that moment of hesitation by lightning and fire yet still more roars could be heard not too far away.

"Everyone get inside!" Rurik hoarsely shouted. Kalen carried the three crippled mages and the rest dashed for cover. Q surged past Signa into the gate followed by the man he was protecting and Zleeda. Signa ushered the young girl in front of her and ran as fast as possible. Now just a few yards away from the gate Signa heard a cry. The girl lay sprawled on the ground and her foot was mangled by a lone root. Signa turned and on one side saw the charr had arrived and were charging while on the other side she saw Q waiting on the other side of the gate.

"Toss her!" she heard him cry. A swift tug later and girl was in her arms. She could almost feel the beast's breathe on her neck. The girl flew through the air and was caught safely by Q. Signa could feel their claws scraping at her back. She sucked in breath and leapt. In that timeless moment she thought she heard an eagle's cry and a flutter of wings; then the gates slammed close and she landed rolling on the ground past Q.

"Oh thank the Gods it's still here!" she heard Rurik cry. A wrinkled hand lowered into her view. It was Erol; he offered her his hand and she took it to get back to her feet. The rest of the mages stood around Rurik as he lifted Stormcaller's mouthpiece from its resting place. A large boom resounded from the doorway.

"Sir they're trying to break in. With the barrier lifted we don't have much time left here."

"Right," Rurik said striding to a marble tile upon the ground. He brushed off the dirt with his bare hands and then raised his sword. A golden staircase appeared upon his command. One by one each man and woman moved up the stairs and to safety. Rurik walked in last and with him, the staircase disappeared along with it's magic.

Signa rubbed her eyes twice at what she saw on the other side. The academy of old was nothing more than a few blasted rocks and a ruined, but defendable, stone wall. Between the rocks was a lone camp with a handful of soldiers inhabiting it. Rurik immediately went to speak with the commanding officer who seemed startled by the unexpected visitors. A few moments later healers came forward to assist the weary crowd. Signa hugged the young girl at her leg and then followed Q and Rurik up to the wall. It seemed much like the Great Northern Wall to Signa except great chunks of it had fallen to ruin.

"There she is," she heard Rurik whisper. At the edge of the wall Rurik pointed to the distance, "Stormcaller, bringer of plenty."

The great white horn of Ascalon gleamed among blackened clouds; a beacon in the darkness calling out for a rescuer.

"And we will go to her," Q finally said before turning around, "Soon."

"Fires..."

"What's that soldier?" asked the wall chief.

"Fires, sir I see fires!"

"This late at night?" both men stepped closer to the edge of the wall. In the distance torches began to light up, one by one. First only a few shone defiantly, but soon many more joined the throng until a sea of moving firelight could be seen.

"We need to report this immediately," the chief barked before blowing his horn, "The charr are attacking!"

"Guardmaster Jayne!" the young soldier shouted, darting between morning scouts and visiting merchants.

"What is with your shouting lad don't you know we have a whole trough of injured mages in the tents!" Jayn reprimanded.

"The charr! They're attacking the academy ma'am!"

"What?! How many."

"It looks like 10 battalions!"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"There's a whole lot!"

"Fine go alert the captains and the troops I want the gates closed and the archers ready."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Just go!" Jayn ordered before dashing for the tent that had been set up the previous evening.

Signa rubbed the sleep from her eyes and grunted as she was shoved aside by yet another soldier from some branch of expertise. The command tent was teeming with men and women, merchants and scribes, and generals and captains. The whole tent looked as if it would burst. In the center of the chaos sat Rurik pouring over maps and troop lists.

Signa easily pushed through the crowd and stood in front of Rurik. Her height allowed her to garner some attention. "What is going on here?" she asked with a raised voice.

"Signa!" Rurik quickly stood and turned to the many people, "Ladies and gentlemen please if you could be so kind as to leave the tent and I will address your concerns at a later period."

Signa frowned standing solidly against the rush of aggravated people. Again she repeated, "What is going on here?"

"The charr. A whole army coming towards this academy. What we have now is not enough to take them down. Every option I've come across either takes too long, or is too risky. We can only hope we have the time to ga-"

"My prince!" interrupted a young soldier standing at the tent entrance.

Rurik let out a deep sigh, "Yes?" he answered.

"y lord the torches were just a distraction; a stealth force has arrived just now. We've lost our ballistas."

"What?!" Rurik shouted slamming his hands on the table, "The archers-"

"Have already been deployed."

"Very well..." was all Rurik could say as his face became a shade darker and a wrinkle older, "Now we're trapped and out of reasonable options."

"Zleeda would be jumping with glee," Signa commented.

"Signa I need you all to do me a great service" Rurik started.

"Is that not what we were gathered for?"

"Hear me out," he whispered, slicking back his sweat-covered hair, "I have but one option left. There is an elevated area to the north-west of the academy. It leads northward all the way to Dead Man's Pass. Q knows of it. You four have to walk along it and collapse the pass to trap them by the Nolani graveyard; the ghosts will handle them there."

"That doesn't sound so bad-" Signa began.

"I'm not finished," Rurik interrupted gravely, "The way there is already guarded by many grisly beasts and it is not an easy walk. Also the only way to aggravate the ghosts is to steal their book."

"Their book sir?"

"It keeps them calm. Steal their book, collapse the pass, and throw the book at the charr forces. Then we can be saved, and then we can save Rin."

"We will not fail you," Signa announced with confidence.

Rurik smiled his sad smile, "May Balthazar be with you."

****

(Thank you for reading this series and please review/comment/message me with your feedback or just to say hi! Have a magical day!) 


	12. Chapter 12

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am simply presenting my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 12

"The Tome of the Fallen?" Q asked.

"That's what he said," Signa replied. Shouts of pain, victory, and anguish rang out below the heroes as they hurried toward the side entrance of the academy.

"What's so important about some dusty old tome?" Zleeda wondered.

Q calmly strung his bow walking in front of the team. "It contains the names of those who had fallen from the wall and were buried in its ruins. It is highly cherished by the spirits of those fallen and cursed to ward against grave robbers. Taking it from its pedestal causes all the spirits to awaken and try to receive it."

"Won't that make the ghosts come after us?" Kalen asked suspiciously.

"If we take the right road and get rid of it fast enough, we'll be alright" Q answered.

Zleeda only sighed, "That doesn't make me feel any better."

The side gate, as far as gates went, was unimpressive. Signa wondered why the Charr did not simply attack this side; then she saw the maze. Even being as tall as she was she could not see over the ridges that stood on either side of the broken path. "Q how are we even going to get there?" she whispered softly.

"The hidden point us in the right direction," Q whispered, slowly approaching the first split in the path.

"The hidden?" Signa started before hearing a pebble fall to their right, "What is-"

She was interrupted by Q turning around with a finger pressed against his lips to signal her to silence herself. She zipped her lips and just followed him as he turned right. The rest of the group also remained perfectly quiet, or as quiet as they could with their equipment, so as not to bother Q. Another pebble fell to the left and Q followed that to. He then stopped and whispered quietly, "The hidden are a secret legion of the Vanguard whose sole purpose is to lead allies through this maze without being seen by only tossing pebbles; however, they will only toss once. Then you are on your own." Signa slowly nodded in understanding and pebble by pebble the adventurers journeyed through the twists, the turns, and toward the tome.

"That's the last of them" Kalen reported, kicking the limp body of a gargoyle off his sword.

"Very well. The graveyard is around the next bend. I'll go on now and retrieve the tome. Are we all clear on the plane?" Q asked in a soft whisper. The rest nodded and took their respective positions; Kalen and Zleeda stood on either side of the path and Signa stood beside the large boulder that would be Dead Man's Pass' barrier.

Q nodded and then tiptoed around the bend and into the graveyard. Dust rolled around his feet and furled about the many headstones on either side of him creating the effect of "mist" in a moistureless environment. Stone, broken and scattered, littered the ground. In front of him stood a gravestone that towered above the rest. It was there, in front of the grave of Captain Halberd Thackaray, that the pedestal stood. Atop it the tome lay open with pages as fresh as the day they were written on.

"Enchanted indeed" Q thought to himself. Warily he approached it whilst reaching into one of the pouches on his belt. Horns sounded in the not-so-far-away distance. "Show time."

With reflexes rivaling the most adept of Melandru Stalkers* Q snatched the tome and dashed away throwing a hand full of obsidian dust to the ground.

A wail seemed to rise from the ground and one by one haggard blue bodies levitated from their graves and landed lightly on their phantasmic feet. "After him!" they cried with voices of a thousand sorrows. The obsidian cloaked Q for only a moment before he was visible once more. Past the headstones he raced being careful to jump and dodge over stone and brush. Around the bend Kalen and Zleeda stood waiting. "THEY'RE COMING NOW!" Q shouted before dashing past them.

Signa waited until she saw the ranger speed past Kalen and Zleeda as if Grenth himself was on his tail. "Q! The book!" she shouted hurriedly. Immediately Q looked her way and tossed the tome. Signa just barely saw the mass of blue before running to the boulder she'd set her staff against.

Q cried, "Be quick!"

"I'm trying!" she shouted in return before starting her spells. Water came forth from her staff with the force of a hundred jotun* having a wrestling match. The boulder stagnantly remained. As soon as the water spout was finished the lava came next. It covered the rock base and seeped into its cracks. A little ice made the lava rock get brittle and a single lightning bolt released the rock slide.

"The book the book!" Q shouted.

"I know!" Signa replied. She picked up the tome and waited. It was not long before the Charr came into view. Masses of them snarling and angry. Signa took a single deep breath and threw the book up into the air. Her staff came swinging around to make contact with the spine. The hit struck true and the book soared forward; as a final touch she set a gust of wind behind it and watched it hit a charr shaman square in the face. Looking behind her she saw the ghostly force receded to chase after their new target.

Q patted Signa's shoulder and nodded as he watched the blue masses sweep over the astounded beasts, "Good work. Let's get back quickly Zleeda was injured."

"R-right" Signa replied feeling very drained from all the magic she had just used.

"Excellent work," Rurik croaked. His voice was nearly gone from shouting orders, "The ghosts are doing their work."

In the distance roars and yelps could still be heard. Specks of blue battled against specks of brown and blue grew stronger and stronger in number.

'What happens when all the charr are dead?" Zleeda questioned. Immediately she cringed as a resident healer mended her shoulder with a blessing incantation from Dwayna.

"They retrieve their book and they go back to sleep." Rurik answered.

"And then the path is cleared?" Kalen inquired.

"Yes."

"So we wait," Q stated, "So lets get some grub."

"Good idea," Signa agreed, "Rurik are you coming?"

"No," he replied, "I'll stay here. Thanks."

"No problem," she got out before she was dragged with the rest toward the soup tent.

"This is it," Signa whispered, "You're sure the fighting was over?"

"The scouts confirmed it," Rurik replied, "Take it down."

"Right, here we go." Staff held high Signa muttered a spell and the earth rumbled beneath them. Rocks came crashing down to reveal the massacre before them. The ground was a mass of blood, fur, and metal and Signa heard Rurik gag as the stench of rotting carcasses hit them hard.

"Keep walking," choked the prince as he slowly tiptoed and weaved his way over and around the bodies. The rest followed suit holding their hands over their mouths and noses. After a while of walking, the towers of Rin became visible followed by the wall covered in fire. Most of the Charr had left the area as the outer walls had already been breached and burned. All that was left was the inner palace and the king. "Rin... father hold on I am almost home.." Rurik muttered under his breath fire reflecting in his eyes from deep within him, "Our city will not fall like this. Not because of them." Resolutely Rurik pushed forward toward the burning city of the king.

* A Melandru's Stalker is a type of wild cat that is native to Ascalonian territory. In the pre-searing Melandru's Stalkers highly populated the Regent Valley in South-East Ascalon. The Melandru's Stalker most closely resembles the American Mountain Lion.

*A Jotun is a type of giant-like creature that is almost all brawn and no brain. They also wear rags around their lower sections and have been loosely nicknamed "Diaper Babies"

(Thank you for reading this series and please review/comment/message me with your feedback or just to say hi! Have a magical day!)


	13. Chapter 13

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am simply presenting my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 13

"Here it is, quickly, hand me the mouthpiece" Rurik ordered as he stood before the great horn. Storm Caller gleamed in the morning light and seemed to hail the sun the way it stood tall as three Dolyaks* standing on top of one another. The carved ivory had the same quality as the horn that Signa carried slung around her neck and was perhaps even more fine and polished. Signa found it hard to imagine what kind of creature the bone was spawned from.

Q reached into the pouch at his side and produced the mouthpiece from its depths. Rurik wasted no time in taking the mouthpiece and attaching it to the horn to make it complete. "Let's hope this works" he said before putting his mouth to the mouthpiece and blowing with all his might. The horn emitted a deep bass sound that made the earth rumble and groan. Signa wrapped her arms around her upon suddenly fearing that her own bones would rattle out of place. After the last sound waves of the mighty instrument disappeared a deafening crack came from above. Dark clouds pregnant with water rolled over the small valley to answer their call. Rurik grinned looking skyward, "And so the fire is extinguished, but the rescue is not finished. As the fires die the charr will be on high alert. We have to get in somehow and retrieve my father and his men from the inner city." The rest nodded and followed Rurik through the pass and down the valley toward the city as rain finally poured as if to herald their arrival.

Carefully Rurik led the team down the blasted landscape toward the city. Upon closer inspection, the company could see a gathering of Charr at the front gate set there most likely to guard against reinforcements.

"Just great, now how do we get in?" Zleeda asked in a whisper as they all crouched behind a large crystal.

Rurik frowned and peered from behind the crystal. He scanned the outer walls until his eyes fell on the western expanse. "There, we can go through Hallwon's Crawl."

"Sir?"

"When I was a boy I would sneak out of the city through a hole in the black smith's wall" Rurik explained.

"It's worth a shot," Q said, "Let's move." Following Q's lead the party carefully sneaked, crystal by crystal, toward the undefended western side of the city.

"It should be around here somewhere," Rurik muttered as he sneaked along the wall, "Aha!" Quickly the prince tore at a couple of dying bushes. A small tunnel was revealed with the width of a large dwarf or a large person.

"Oh you're kidding..." Kalen grunted. Signa observed that his shoulder width was far too wide for this entrance and barely restrained a giggle at the predicament.

"Right..." Q started as he also observed this obstacle, "Alright Kalen why don't you guard this entrance for when we return yeah?"

"My pleasure Q" Kalen replied looking visibly relieved.

Rurik nodded and then faced the tunnel, "Let's keep moving then." The prince wasted no time in crouching down and entering the tunnel. On all fours he lead everyone through the dank tunnel. Signa took up the rear as it took much longer for her to crawl. She had to crawl on her elbows for she was too large to crawl on her hands. After much difficulty the group finally emerged from the dark into a small smith shop. The shop was abandoned and the door left wide open. They could see outside the smoke where the fires used to be and the clear way up and towards the inner city. "The horn did it's work..." Rurik whispered quietly before exiting the shop. The streets lay as abandoned as the shops and homes and it was not hard for move on towards the inner city. Rounding a corner however, the team was presented with a very angry charr shaman and his posse of charr warriors.

"Bonfaz Burntfur.." Rurik growled with his eyes glaring holes in the Charr's back.

"Rurik that's no piece of cake we're looking at-" Q started.

"DIE SCUM!" Rurik shouted springing from their hiding place toward the group of confused and aggravated Charr.

"RURIK!" Q shouted after him, drawing an arrow just in time to shoot down a Charr archer before it could take a shot at the crazed prince.

Chaos ensued as Zleeda had to emerge to fight off three Charr warriors who had been manning a large siege hammer and Signa who had to negate Burntfur's fiery spells. Rurik was beyond reason and began hacking and slashing at the shaman with reckless abandon. Somehow they beat down each charr, including Burntfur, without any casualties except for a nasty black eye on Rurik. Signa breathed hard leaning against the gate and nodded to her friends glad to see they were alright, "So the bad guys are dead and the inner city is safe. How do we let them know we're the good guys?"

Rurik slowly sheathed his sword and turned to her, "Hand me your horn."

Signa handed it over without question wondering what he planned on doing. Rurik put his lips to the mouthpiece and began blowing several notes in quick succession followed by one long blast. The horn was not very loud, but it was loud enough to have been heard by the king's men. The gates slowly creaked inward granting the tired group access.

"Father!" Rurik shouted running toward the king and his royal guard. They had been standing in the center of the courtyard to await the final battle. With a look of surprise Adelbern looked upon his son and sheathed his sword.

"My son! What are you doing here Rurik you are supposed to be guarding Ascalon."

"I came to retrieve you father. Rin is lost and the people need their king! Come we must retreat to Ascalon immediately and talk about evacuation-"

"Evacuation? Ascalonians? Where do you expect us to go Rurik this is outrageous!" The king shouted.

"Father we can't stay here any longer. It will be the death of our people. We must evacuate to Kryta-"

"THE KRYTANS?! YOU ARE ASKING ME TO HAVE OUR PEOPLE TURN THEIR TAIL AND GO WHIMPERING TO THOSE FOOLS?!"

"Father, you must quit this grudge of yours!"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

"Father..."

"Listen here boy, we are Ascalonians and Ascalonians do not surrender themselves to any damned Krytan! We will stay here and fight to the last do you understand?!"

Signa looked between the quarreling son and father and grit her teeth forcing herself to remain quiet. This was Rurik's business, not hers.

Rurik looked absolutely shocked. Hurt and incredulousness stood out in his eyes before being replaced with pride and determination. "No father. I won't let you bring your people down with your broken pride. I will be leading the evacuation upon the next week. It will be your choice to follow reason and join us."

"Traitor!" the mad king shouted, "Unbelievable! You would directly disobey your father?! Well you are my son no longer! Begone!"

"Very well. Come my friends.. we have a long journey ahead of us."

Q slowly nodded glaring at the old king, "Yes sir." Zleeda and Signa quickly agreed and followed Rurik out of the courtyard and down back towards their exit.

"If the man wants to die for nothing, let him. I won't stand and watch our people suffer any longer. We move on to Kryta, to a new life."

{Dolyak are a large bovine creature that resemble very large, shaggy, yak. They have huge curved horns and are herded and also used as transportation whether to be ridden on or to carry supplies. One famous Dolyak is the Dolyak of Nicholas the Traveler, named "Professor Yakkington."}

{Thank you for reading this series and please review/comment/message me with your feedback or just to say hi! Have a magical day!}


	14. Chapter 14

{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am simply presenting my own character through the story. Thank you.}

Chapter 14

"People of Ascalon! Gather around and listen!" Rurik shouted, standing atop the hill that mostly overlooked the small haven of Old Ascalon. Below him a crowd of starved, fatigued men, women, and children gathered to look up at their Prince with hope and trust, "Your King has abandoned you! He sits in madness in the failing capital and would see you all fall along side him to the Charr! Although I love my father and my King I will not see his wishes followed through! Ascalon must live on! We must retreat to Kryta and start life anew! There the crops will grow, the rivers flow clean, and there are no charr! Who will come?"

Below murmurings started amidst the people. Throughout the lands the folks of ascalon had gathered from the Grenditch Courthouse furthest to the northwest, to the small camp of Piken Square outside the Breach. After a few nerve wrenching minutes the soldiers of Piken Square stepped forward lead by Duke Barradin. They bowed deeply and the good Duke crossed his right arm over his chest. "We follow the prince."

Before long 85% of the crowd had stepped forward swearing their allegiance and trust to Rurik. The rest however wore stony, dark faces filled with pride and anger. They were farmers who'd spent generations on the lands on their ancestors and now they stepped back spitting toward the prince and his followers. One woman spoke up assisting her father in moving back toward their shack, "Curses be on all of you! You would dare turn your backs on your own people and whimper with your tails between your legs to the Krytans! Traitors!"

Rurik looked sorrowfully at those moving away from him and only looked towards those that wished to be saved. "My fellows, we are running out of time, before long the Charr will regroup and march on us for a last time. We must quickly pack up our little belongings and go toward the promise land," a roar arose from the crowd and Rurik raised his sword to the sky letting the ancient blade light up the sky with it's fire, "To a new tomorrow!"

"To a new tomorrow indeed," rasped a voice as dark as the longest night. A large green hand rose in Signa's vision. The flesh seemed to melt off the bone and let off a black gas that caused Signa to gag and choke, "However, all things have a price."

Q moved out of his tent and stretched. A rare smile graced his face, and the chill air filled his lungs with its fresh, pine scent as he looked up to the clear skies and shining sun. The pilgrimage through the Diessa Lowlands had been one of the hardest to ever have been made. Three caravans had been lost to the Charr, 30 children to hunger, and 20 soldiers to the fight against attackers. The journey took weeks stretching into months and Q had begun to lose hope until they at last topped the very last hill and caught sight of the Shiverpeak mountains and clear sky. Now they just had to play a waiting game while Rurik journeyed through the mountains to negotiate passage with King Jalis Ironhammer. It had been nearly a week since the Prince had went into the Borlis Pass with his small escort. Q had been apprehensive at first, but he knew that the Krytans were with him, and that he would be just fine. "Kalen!" Q called toward the bulkier man who had been quietly chatting with another warrior.

Kalen looked up from his conversation to see Q walking toward him with travel clothing and bow ready for action. "Hey Q," he asked slowly, "Where are you off to?"

Q smiled and gestured toward the exit of the small Krytan camp, "There are centaurs gathering north of here threatening our passage west through the Borlis Pass. I thought perhaps I'd do my part in taking them down. It shouldn't take too long do you mind watching over the camp?"

Kalen nodded looking around at the meager gathering of tents and weapon racks that made up the Krytan "town" of Yak's Bend, "Yeah take your time I can handle things here."

Q nodded trusting his good friend and then walked out of the camp's southern entrance before directing himself northward. Some of the Krytan locals of the area had told him about what he could expect in the wilderness of the Shiverpeak mountains although Q had been through them before so nothing was all that new. The only danger that Q did not recognize was the threat of the "Stone Summit" dwarves. The Krytans he had talked to described them as crude, loud, and heavy in number, but otherwise could not seem to put a solid profile on these enemies. Q hoped now that he would be able to figure it all out for himself.

As always, even on this borderline town nearing only the base of the Shiverpeak mountain range, fresh snow littered the ground and crisp, freezing air shortened Q's breath with harsh swiftness. The lands were quiet as no animal could be spotted in tree or bush. Q frowned and slowly strung his bow in preparation for anything that might come his way; he was all too wary of the ettins and minotaurs that lingered in the area. As if on cue directly behind him a twig snapped and Q turned around to shoot an arrow toward the disturbance. A shriek emitted from a shaking bush which surprised Q for he had not known ettin to be so shrill of voice.

"GRENTH'S RAGGED ROBE THAT WAS CLOSE!" came the voice again and now Q was thoroughly shocked as ettin's never said more than "Ugh" or perhaps "Herrgeeka." His unasked questions were answered when a slim figure fell through the bushes followed by two rather grotesque creatures that towered over the one who fell over. Q immediately drew two arrows and knocked both preparing to take the creatures down. Unlike the beauty they hovered over, the monstrosities had skulls for heads blood-stained bones protruding from their backs like spikes. The rest of their bodies were vaguely human in shape and were made of nothing but rotting, pulsating flesh. Q had never seen, or smelled, anything like them before.

Seeming to become aware of Q's presence, the creatures began to crouch in preparation of an attack and Q was just about to let fly before the woman who had fallen over put a hand up to stop him. Surprised, Q dropped his arrows slightly and even the creatures backed away from their hostile stances. The woman slowly stood sputtering dirt and snow from her pretty little mouth. She had short, bluish-silver hair with bangs that covered her right eye and tucked behind her left ear. Her skin was almost as pale as the snow she stood on although she wore dark makeup around her eyes and dark red lipstick creating a shocking contrast of features. She patted down dirt and snow from her now dampened dress to reveal a variety of bone charms and feathers hanging from the black and green folds. To Q she looked like a servant of Lord Death from the stories he'd listen to as a child and he was at a loss of words as far as how to greet and/or threaten this new person.

He didn't have to for as soon as the woman had "prettied" herself up again she curtsied at Q. "Hello there Mr. Tan my name is Silvery Dusk although my friends mostly call me Silvery. Sorry for sneaking up on you there that probably wasn't the smart thing to do."

Q barely shook himself out of his confused stupor to say a few words, "Call me Q... um.. what are you, what are those, and why are you following me?"

"My what a lot of questions you have there Q let's see I'm a high class traveling Necromancer, and these are my main minions; I've named them Gronkle and Ugga." The minions stood behind Silvery quite tamely until one of the bones on Gronkle's back fell lopsided and hit Ugga over the head. Ugga grunted, "Ugga" and punched Gronkle in the arm although the impact between fleshy ick and fleshy ick only created an unpleasant "splat" sound.

"A necromancer," Q said as his eyes were drawn to the horrendous yet comical interaction between the two minions, "Okay yeah I've heard of that class. It's not a class many people take right? Because of the, er, risks?"

"Hey there's only risks if you let there be risks. Those blood necros keep making a horrible name for the rest of us. I'm strictly a minion master."

"Of course, what about my other question? Why were you hiding in a bush watching me?" Q felt rather annoyed now. Although the encounter with the woman had been quite interesting he was remembering that she had spied on him first.

"Oh, yes, well- um... I'm a uh... fan."

"A fan?"

"Yes I've uh, heard of you and I uh appreciate your incredible skill."

"So you were spying on me?"

"Admiring from a comfortable distance."

"Stalking."

"Okay maybe a little."

Q sighed sliding his arrows back into his quiver, "Look. Silver?"

"Silvery."

"Silvery," Q began to turn away, "The Prince of Ascalon will return to the camp any day now and I need to clear these centaurs before that happens. I suggest you return to camp and stop hanging around in bushes."

Silver frowned watching Q go away and turned around to look at her minions continually slapping each other having nothing else to do. She then grit her teeth and ran after Q with the minions stumbling over each other to follow. "Wait!" she cried once she was close enough for him to hear her, "I can help! I fight to! My minions do whatever I ask and they're great fighters since they're already dead!"

Q reached a boulder that stood before a small valley where he could see smoke rising from campfires. Now he turned toward Silvery with a strained smile on his tanned face, "I'm sure they are Silvery and their capacity for attention is-" Q watched the minions begin to slap each other again, "Astounding, but two big meat shields aren't going to do much against a whole valley of centaur warriors."

"How about twelve?"

"Huh?"

"I can uphold up to twelve minions. I just need dead bodies to make them from. If you keep killing centaur with these first two, I can keep making more to cover you!"

Q slowly looked toward the camp and thought hard on what he should do. There were three fires each with ten centaurs gathered together. The closest gathering of centaurs had eight Shiverpeak Long Bowmen, and two Shiverpeak Warriors. Considering Silvery's ability the attack should be a snap if he could just pick off the bowmen while Gronkle and Ugga took out the warriors. Deciding on his plan of action he turned back to Silvery. "Alright here's the plan. Each of those campfires are about 50 paces apart for a human, 25 paces for them. That closest fire is to be our first target. I need you to send out flesh thing one and flesh thing two after those two warriors there so that I can pick off the bowmen. After a few of them are dead they'll start calling the other centaurs which will give me about 10 seconds before both other camps are stampeding toward us. I need you to hold back on calling more minions until I've killed off every centaur from the first camp okay? Sound good?"

"They're not fleshy things their names are Gronkle and Ugga and they are my minis."

"Fine Gronkle and Ugga, are we clear on the plan?"

Silver nodded smiling once more, "We're clear. Gronkle and Ugga? Prepare to charge!"

The minions nodded standing in front of their master waiting patiently for the attack. Q nodded and turned toward the camp fires setting himself up at a nicely defended position and setting several arrows next to him. He then looked toward Silvery and nodded.

Silvery nodded back and pointed toward the Shiverpeak Warriors, "Minions destroy!" Eagerly Gronkle and Ugga charged into the valley making splat sounds all the way down. It didn't take long for the huddled group of centaur to notice them and brandish their weapons. Gronkle went in first tackling one of the two warriors and pummeling him even as the centaur attempted to stab it through with it's rudimentary sword. Q shook his head from his perch and took careful aim. The first arrow flew true and hit one of the long bowmen square in the back to topple him onto the other warrior. Ugga had a field day clamping her "jaws" on the fallen warrior with ravenous hunger. Q continued his attack satisfied with the wonderful distraction the two minions were creating. He was glad to see that he was even able to kill two more centaurs before one of them finally gathered his wits and blew a horn to call the other two camps over.

Q gently whispered, "Ten" the arrow whizzed from his bow piercing through the centaur's vocal cords mid-blow. "Nine" two arrows embedded themselves in the seventh centaur's flank. "Eight" arrows began whizzing toward Q from the remaining three centaurs of the first camp and Q ducked knocking another arrow into his bow. "Seven" Q emerged once more taking aim between two spiraling arrows and sending his own into the heart of the centaur with the wounded flank. "Six" the ground rumbled from the beating of many hooves stampeding toward the fight. "Five" Q moved up to shoot again and fell over to dodge an incoming arrow. "Four" Q tried once more, but missed as one of the minions toppled the centaur he was aiming at. "Three" the centaur lifted itself up again hitting the minion away with his bow. "Two" both centaurs aimed at Q at the same time with the stampede of centaurs visible just behind them. "One" the twang of arrow leaving string resounded in Q's ears as he ducked and shouted, "NOW!" Q's two arrows lodged in the heads of the remaining centaur bowmen as their two arrows whizzed above Q's head. Silvery moved from her hiding place and pointed a bone staff she had retrieved from who knows where toward the sky. A sickly green light surrounded her pale, thin arm and swirled into the eyes of the skull at the end of her staff. The eyes flashed once with the energy and Q watched as the dead bodies of the centaurs he'd shot exploded. Creatures the size of Gronkle and Ugga emerged from the carnage and shrieked as one creating a line of defense between Q, and the incoming Shiverpeak stampede.

Just as Q had predicted, the enemies stumbled over one another in their surprise and the minions were on them before they could say, "Disgusting!"

"GRENTH'S BLISTERS YEAH!" Silvery shouted, rooting for her beloved dead things, "GO TO THE MISTS YOU BUNCH OF BONE-HEADED IMP FODDER!"

Q shook his head and proceeded to shoot down as many centaurs as could be seen in the mass of red flesh and terrified centaur. After about five minutes of bloody massacre not a single centaur remained while six minions were left standing. Silvery smiled and clapped her hands as Gronkle and Ugga absorbed their comrades and returned to Silvery like puppies who had just been playing a game of fetch. Q had never been more fascinated, yet at the same time terrified, in his whole life.

Silvery turned toward Q, "That.. was so.. freaking.. WICKED! Can we do it again?"

Q stared at Silvery wondering at her combination of cheerfulness and frightening blood lust, "Um.. no. Not now at least; however, I do have a proposition for you. My team could use someone like you and despite our quest for a safer place for the Ascalonians is nearing its finish, I have a feeling our adventures are far from over. How would you like to join our group?"

"Do you mean that?" Silvery asked, excitement nearly spewing forth from her startling green eyes, "OF FREAKING COURSE! Oh grenth's groveling graveyard this will be amazing! Hanging out with Q and his friends! I'll be a hero just like you guys!"

"Calm down, let's just get back to camp okay?"

"Right, to camp. Let's go!"

Ugga looked at Gronkle as Silver dashed off back towards Yak's bend with a sheepish Q following and slapped him again before running off. "Ugga!"

(Thank you for reading this series and please review/comment/message me with your feedback or just to say hi! Have a magical day!)


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